HC Deb 13 January 1988 vol 125 cc300-1W
17. Mr. Meale

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by how much the trade balance in electronics changed between the second quarter of 1979 and the second quarter of 1987; and what are the comparable figures in the average, best and worst performing Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country.

Mr. Butcher

Britain's trade balance in electronic: goods, measured by the ratio of exports to imports, fell by 17 per cent. between 1979 and 1986.

Among the top 10 OECD exporters of electronic goods, Japan saw an increase of more than 60 per cent. in its export-import ratio, and the United States a fall of more than 40 per cent. over the period.

Excluding Japan, the largest exporter in this category, the average for the OECD countries was a fall of 25 per cent.

58. Dr. Moonie

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by how much Britain's share of world trade

OECD Countries Exports of Electronic Goods1
Exports Per cent. of total Change in share per cent.
United States $ million
1979 1986 1979 1986
Australia 97 121 0.2 0.1 -42
Austria 807 1,640 1.3 1.2 -6
Belgium/Luxembourg 1,789 2,690 2.8 1.9 -30
Canada 1,652 3,667 2.6 2.6 3
Denmark 659 1,004 1.0 0.7 -29
Finland 270 710 0.4 0.5 22
France 4,597 7,420 7.2 5.4 -25
Germany 9,467 15,718 148 11.3 -23
Greece 22 18 0.0 0.0 -61
Ireland 582 2,894 0.9 2.1 130
Italy 2,455 4,770 3.8 3.4 -10
Japan 14,133 45,021 22.0 32.5 47
Netherlands 3,523 5,117 5.5 3.7 -33
New Zealand 9 26 0.0 0.0 30
Norway 217 537 0.3 0.4 15
Portugal 161 330 0.3 0.2 -5
Spain 422 923 0.7 0.7 1
Sweden 1,955 3,171 3.0 2.3 -25
Switzerland 1,245 2,195 1.9 1.6 -18
Turkey 3 17 0.0 0.0 135
United States 14,751 31,280 23.0 22.6 -2
United Kingdom 5,350 9,427 8.3 6.8 -18
OECD less Iceland 64,166 138,696
1 Standard International Trade Classification, divisions 75 (part) 76 77 (part) 79 (part) 87 (part) and 89 (part).

Note: Because the amount of trade varies widely among these countries, changes in the ratio of exports to imports provide a more reliable measure than changes in the balances.

Source: OECD.