HC Deb 15 February 1989 vol 147 c242W
44. Mr. Allan Roberts

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries are running a larger trade deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product than the United Kingdom.

Mr. Alan Clark

In 1987 Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Spain, Austria and the United States had larger visible trade deficits than the United Kingdom in relation to their gross domestic product.

The OECD figures for 1988 are not yet complete, but we already know that at least four countries will have deficits larger than the United Kingdom when measured on this basis.