§ 23. Mr. McCartneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by how much the trade balance in mechanical engineering changed between the second quarter of 1979 and the second quarter of 1987; and what was the comparable figure in the average, best and worst performing Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country.
§ Mr. AtkinsBritain's trade balance in mechanical engineering goods, as measured by the ratio of our exports to our imports fell by 25 per cent. between 1970 and 1986. The average fall among OECD countries was 16 per cent. Among the top 10 OECD exporters of mechanical engineering goods, Japan saw an increase of nearly 40 per cent. in its export-import ratio and the United States saw a fall of nearly 60 per cent.
§ 34. Dr. ReidTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by how much the percentage of Britain's domestic market met by imports of mechanical engineering changed between 1979 and June 1987; and what was the comparable figure in the average, best and worst performing Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development country.
303W
§ Mr. AtkinsInformation on OECD countries' import penetration in mechanical engineering goods is in the table.
Import Penetration in Mechanical Engineering Products1 1979 1985 Import Penetration Percentage change Production Imports Exports Production Imports Exports 1979 1985 1985–89 US$ Billion Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Australia 4.7 2.5 0.4 4.1 4.4 0.3 37 54 45 Austria 3.3 2.3 2.1 4.2 2.6 2.6 66 61 -7 Bel'Lux 4.8 4.0 3.3 3.2 3.9 3.1 73 97 33 Canada 6.9 8.1 4.0 12.2 10.7 5.5 73 62 -16 Denmark 2.9 1.8 2.0 2.6 2.1 2.1 66 80 22 Finland 1.9 1.3 0.9 2.7 1.8 1.5 56 59 4 France 34.5 9.5 11.3 29.9 11.0 10.5 29 36 24 Germany 53.1 10.5 31.6 43.2 13.1 32.2 33 54 65 Greece 0.5 1.1 — 0.3 0.8 — 70 69 -1 Ireland 0.8 1.3 0.7 0.9 1.8 2.4 93 811 771 Italy 19.3 4.9 12.3 18.4 7.0 14.4 41 64 54 Japan 73.0 2.9 14.2 100.6 4.0 28.9 5 5 13 Netherlands 4.2 4.6 3.7 2.8 6.2 4.9 89 153 71 New Zealand 0.6 0.6 0.1 0.7 1.0 0.1 53 62 18 Norway 1.64 1.6 0.6 2.5 2.4 0.8 67 59 -12 Portugal 0.3 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.7 0.3 87 94 8 Spain 5.67 2.2 1.7 4.8 3.0 2.0 36 51 45 Sweden 7.7 3.1 4.7 6.4 3.9 5.1 51 74 46 United States 161.1 12.8 30.1 219.5 32.2 38.8 9 15 70 United Kingdom 30.6 9.6 13.4 26.6 13.6 14.6 36 53 47 Total OECD2 416.69 85.5 137.1 485.9 125.9 170.2 23 28 22 Notes: 1 International Standard Industrial Classification Major Group 382. 2 Excluding Iceland, Switzerland and Turkey. '—' Value less than half the final digit shown.
Overseas trade figures include imports for re-export and exports for re-import. For a number of countries this entrepot trade is substantial and import penetration ratios are distorted.
Source: OECD.
§ 43. Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by how much Britain's share of world trade in mechanical engineering changed between 1979 and 1986 and what was the comparable figure in the average, best and worst performing Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country.
304W
OECD countries exports of mechanical engineering Exports Percentage of total Change in share 1979 US $ billion 1986 US $ billion 1979 Per cent. 1986 per cent. Australia 0 0 0.3 0.2 -18 Austria 2 4 1.6 2.2 38 Belgium/Luxembourg 3 4 2.5 2.1 -18 Canada 4 5 2.9 3.0 5 Denmark 2 3 1.5 1.5 1 Finland 1 2 0.7 1.0 42 France 11 12 8.3 6.7 -19 Germany 31 42 23.6 23.5 0 Greece 0 0 0.0 0.0 21 Ireland 0 1 0.2 0.3 32 Italy 10 16 7.5 9.0 21 Japan 13 27 9.9 15.5 56 Netherlands 3 5 2.5 2.6 5 New Zealand 0 0 0.0 0.1 24 Norway 1 1 0.4 0.4 -10 Portugal 0 0 0.1 0.2 174 Spain 2 2 1.2 1.1 -8 Sweden 4 6 3.2 3.2 0 Switzerland 6 8 4.2 4.5 9 Turkey 0 0 0.0 0.1 1 United States 26 26 19.6 14.9 -24
§ Mr. AtkinsData on world trade are not readily available. Information on OECD countries' shares of total OECD exports are in the following table.
305W
Exports Percentage of total Change in share 1979 1986 1979 1986 US $ billion US $ billion per cent. per cent. per cent. United Kingdom 13 14 9.9 7.9 -20 OECD less Iceland 133 177 1 Not meaningful. Notes:
1. Standard International Trade Classification divisions 71 (part), 72, 73, 74.
2. 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.