§ Mr. AshtonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will support the EC proposals to apply quotas in value terms on imports of footwear from China from 1 July and demand backing for this from other EC countries.
§ Mr. Needham[holding answer 5 June 1992]: In common with a number of other member states, the Government have pressed the Commission to present a proper economic case in support of their proposal for an EC-wide quota regime. We shall then weigh the evidence, taking into account not only the United Kingdom footwear industry's support for the measure but also the opposition to it from some United Kingdom importers and retailers.
§ Mr. AshtonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he intends to take to prevent the unfair dumping of shoes from China into the United Kingdom and the European Community.
§ Mr. Needham[holding answer 5 June 1992]: It is for the industry concerned in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in the European Community to make a case to the European Commission about alleged dumping of goods from third countries and for the Commission to investigate it. I am not aware of any recent complaints about dumping of shoes from China.