§ Mr. Trotterasked the Minister for Trade whether he will make a statement on the recent discussions on maritime matters between the Under-Secretary and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
§ Mr. SproatAs part of my continuing efforts to combat damaging protectionism in world shipping, and to take appropriate measures to halt the decline of the Merchant Navy, I held very constructive discussions with the new State Secretary and Minister respectively, Herr Bayer and Herr Dollinger, on maritime matters on 30 November in Bonn. I am pleased to say that we established that the United Kingdom and the new Government of the Federal Republic of Germany were in full agreement on the need to unite in order to counter increasing pressures for shipping protectionism and to resist bilateral cargo reservation agreements. In particular, we discussed the implications of the UNCTAD liner conference code, the need to maintain open registeries, the dangers of heavily state-subsidised Soviet shipping, and the importance of preventing cargo reservation in the bulk trades. I very much hope that our two countries can work together to achieve our mutual aims on these subjects in the relevant international fora.