§ Mr. Lyellasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list by member country and sector of trade and commerce the barriers to trade between Great Britain and other countries in the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. ChannonThere are in all member states a wide range of legal and administrative requirements which could be viewed as impeding free trade in goods and services. Individual firms' perceptions of which of these constitute barriers to trade vary considerably. Heads of Government at the European Council last month identified' five categories where priority action should be taken to remove barriers to trade. These were:
- —the removal of physical barriers to the free movement of goods within the Community.
- —the removal of technical barriers to the free movement of goods within the Community (in particular the adoption of common or compatible standards for major new technologies in order to open up public purchasing and satisfy the needs of the economy).
- —the creation of a free market in the financial services and transport sectors.
- —the creation of full freedom of establishment for the professions.
- —liberalisation of capital movement.
The European Commission also have identified some 300 measures where, in their view, action is necessary to remove barriers to trade. These are listed in the annex o their White Paper "Completing the Internal Market" published on 15 June, a copy of which is in the Library.