§ Mr. Arthur Davidsonasked the Minister for Trade on how many occasions cotton import quotas were broken in 1981; and if he is satisfied with the current level of the import quotas.
§ Mr. Peter Rees[pursuant to his reply, 5 July 1982, c. 7]: None. Imports of cotton yarn or cloth for consumption in the United Kingdom from countries subject to quota arrangements require an import licence, which is counted 85W against the relevant quota. Some very limited flexibility is allowed in the use of quotas, but once the working level for the year concerned has been reached no further licences are issued. I am generally satisfied with the level of import quotas for 1982.
Imports into the United Kingdom of Stainless Steel 1979 1980 1981* 1982 January February March Value £ million 102.2 96.6 67.8 11.4 9.2 10.2 Quantity '000 tonnes 98.9 85.9 73.0 13.8 10.0 11.0 * Excluding July and August. The principal supplying countries were:
'000 tonnes 1979 1980 1981* France 25.0 21.2 13.8 West Germany 22.1 19.2 16.3 Sweden 19.9 13.0 8.1 Italy 8.5 7.6 4.8 Japan 4.1 5.2 1.2 Belgium-Luxembourg 5.7 4.5 4.8 United States of America 2.7 3.2 1.3 Spain 2.7 2.1 1.9 Finland 1.4 1.6 2.0 South Africa 1.7 1.5 0.9 Brazil 1.2 0.9 0.8 * Excluding July and August. Source: Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau.