§ 33. Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on prospects for trade in manufactured goods between Britain and its European Union partners. [105783]
§ Mr. CabornThe prospects for trade with our European Union partners are improving. Respected forecasters expect that market growth across the European Union will strengthen this year. This is already reflected in better export figures, which show that in the three months to November the value of exports to Germany, our main European Union trading partner, were 4 per cent. higher than the previous three months.
The CBI survey of manufacturers shows that optimism about export prospects for the coming 12 months is positive for the first time since October 1996, suggesting that companies share this view.