Mr. Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what protection exists at present against imports of knitwear into the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. TrippierThe European Community has negotiated textile agreements within the framework of the multi-fibre arrangement with 27 low-cost suppliers. These include numerous quotas on imports of knitwear (as well as textiles and woven clothing) into individual member states and also provide for the introduction of new quotas when appropriate. A similar arrangement is applied to Taiwan, and other autonomous arrangements are applied to certain state trading countries. The Community has also negotiated voluntary restraint arrangements with several of its preferential trading partners; five of these cover imports of knitwear.