§ Mr. Richard Pageasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what surveys have been undertaken by his Department to ascertain the level of support given by other industrialised countries through the commercial sections of their embassies and consulates to their exporting companies.
§ Mr. RifkindNo surveys have been undertaken. The character, scale and organisation of export services provided by our major competitors vary so widely according to their political and administrative systems that it is difficult to draw fair comparisons and to assess the relative merits or values. The Federal Republic of Germany, for example, provides most of its export services overseas through its chambers of commerce, to which all businesses in the Federal Republic are required by law to belong.
The British Overseas Trade Board, which directs and develops our export promotion services, collects a certain amount of information about other countries' services. Indications are that the net effects of these are broadly similar to our own.