Written Answers

                    The text on this page has been created from Hansard archive content, it may contain typographical errors.
                

Written Answers To Questions

Friday, 9th December, 1955

Trade And Commerce

Bulgaria And Czechoslovakia

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give details of the commodities involved in our im-

UNITED KINGDOM TRADE WITH BULGARIA DURING OCTOBER 1955
	Unit of Quantity	Quantity	£
IMPORTS from Bulgaria:
Poultry eggs in shell:
Over 14 lb. but not exceeding 17 lb. in weight per 120	Great 100	2,997	3,896
Grapes, fresh, other than hothouse grapes	cwt.	600	2,408
Wool in the fleece, greasy (including washed on the sheeps' back)—Crossbred	Thous. lb.	35	5,200
Plywood, including laminboard, block board and batten board, other than that faced with birch	cu. ft.	1,412	2,227
All other articles	—	—	371
TOTAL IMPORTS	—	—	14,102

EXPORTS to Bulgaria:
Woollen (including shoddy and mungo) and hair rags, pulled, applicable to purposes other than manurial	Cental of 100 lb.	68	1,395
Woollen and hair rags, applicable to purposes other than manurial, not pulled	cwt.	407	7,159
Textile machinery	cwt.	788	16,836
Parts for internal combustion engines	cwt.	3	1,797
All other articles	—	—	1,048
TOTAL EXPORTS	—	—	28,235
The trade and financial agreement with Bulgaria was concluded on 22nd September, 1955.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give details of imports from Czechoslovakia each year from 1949, stating the amount in £'s for each year per commodity; and if he

TABLE 1
IMPORTS INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA
				OLD CLASSIFICATION (see notes below)
				1949	1950	1951	1952
				£	£	£	£
Meat	…	…	…	77	391,325	453,608	79,316
Cocoa preparations	…	…	…	51,458	982,396	652,752	451,420
Miscellaneous foodstuffs	…	…	…	124,049	1,560,936	2,398,847	1,010,373
Softwood, sawn	…	…	…	4,091	659,914	411,811	1,338,578
Hides and skins, undressed	…	…	…	2,954	46,599	330,792	211,240
Pottery, glass, abrasives, etc.	…	…	…	199,436	390,884	430,512	381,545
Cotton manufactures (except apparel, embroidery and cordage)	…	…	…	82,623	484,427	208,349	92,163
Woollen and worsted yarns and manufactures		…	…	221,831	384,152	296,525	75,592
Apparel	…	…	…	70,785	689,995	434,479	157,305
Footwear	…	…	…	70,583	280,872	111,478	84,714
Manufactures of wood and timber	…	…	…	259,637	508,641	737,042	386,296
Paper, cardboard, etc.	…	…	…	78,213	105,965	481,412	198,019
Miscellaneous articles, wholly or mainly manufactured				333,556	740,385	663,666	933,719
All other articles	…	…	…	761,646	1,538,922	1,516,626	1,110,905
TOTAL IMPORTS	…	…	…£	2,260,939	8,765,413	9,127,899	6,511,185

ports and exports with Bulgaria since the trade and financial agreement was concluded.

The information is as follows:will give similar details for exports for the same period.

The following is the answer:

	NEW CLASSIFICATION (see notes below)
	1952	1953	1954	Jan.-Oct. 1955
	£	£	£	£
Sugar and sugar preparations	279,746	577,085	110,556	267
Cocoa preparations*	451,434	520,647	120,830	26
Miscellaneous food preparations*	268,388	329,572	94,112	5
Hides, skins, and fur skins, undressed	211,240	297,990	242,280	239,602
Wood, coniferous, sawn, not further prepared, and softwood, planed or dressed	1,337,963	2,134,988	1,888,419	1,504,860
Miscellaneous animal and vegetable crude materials, inedible	305,455	385,996	170,280	27,136
Plywood including laminboard, blockboard and batten board	222,001	238,266	401,966	412,842
Paper, paperboard and manufactures thereof^*	183,695	97,207	136,320	159,580
Miscellaneous textile manufactures (except clothing	242,655	307,715	364,963	6,634
Miscellaneous non-metallic mineral manufactures	539,316	496,259	644,204	273,620
Clothing, footwear, travel goods and handbags	238,707	376,140	384,818	636
Miscellaneous manufactured articles^*	390,333	461,707	415,384	104,788
All other articles^*	1,840,252	1,444,240	1,620,005	1,028,626
TOTAL IMPORTS	£6,511,185	7,667,812	6,594,137	3,758,622

TABLE 2
UNITED KINGDOM EXPORTS TO CZECHOSLOVAKIA
		OLD CLASSIFICATION (see notes below)
		1949	1950	1951	1952
		£	£	£	£
Miscellaneous foodstuffs	…	93,292	152,219	149,263	69,387
Wool, raw and waste, and woollen rags	…	148,538	473,018	400,449	397,207
Electrical goods and apparatus	…	324,015	175,862	204,252	130,533
Machinery and parts	…	1,653,493	1,270,704	605,752	425,132
Non-ferrous metals and manufactures	…	619,551	503,219	134,831	43,688
Woollen and worsted yarns and manufactures	…	524,905	805,331	238,285	30,378
Chemicals, drugs, dyes and colours	…	674,684	293,577	353,857	289,578
Parcel post	…	191,645	153,000	97,140	105,020t
All other articles	…	1,084,752	514,497	514,671	647,153
TOTAL EXPORTS	…	£5,314,875	4,341,427	2,698,500	2,138,076

			NEW CLASSIFICATION (see notes below)
—			1952	1953	1954	Jan.-Oct., 1955
			£	£	£	£
Sugar, refined	…	…	—	—	—	670,487
Wool and other animal hair and tops	…	…	319,963	415,477	397,520	361,739
Woollen and hair rags, applicable to purposes other
than manurial, not pulled	…	…	82,214	159,501	349,312	234,570
Chemicals^*	…	…	350,468	269,618	281,427	170,508
Woollen and worsted yarns and woven fabrics^*		…	30,128	35,391	101,190	116,451
Copper wire	…	…	—	—	94,017	186,435
Machinery other than electric^*	…	…	403,027	283,363	55,223	78,181
Postal packages	…	…	105,020†	175,660	198,840	146,760
All other articles	…	…	847,256	548,495	311,237	298,767
TOTAL EXPORTS	…	…	£2,138,076	1,887,505	1,788,766	2,263,898
NOTES: In 1954 the Standard International Trade Classification was adopted as the basis for United Kingdom Trade statistics. Figures on this basis have been compiled for 1952 and subsequent years, but prior to 1952 figures are available under the old classification only. Totals for all years have been based on the 1955 coverage.
^* The descriptions used refer to different collections of goods from those previously covered by the same terms.
† Value based on revised estimated average value (introduced in 1953) per postal package.

Hallmarking Laws (Departmental Committee)

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the membership and the terms of reference of the Committee on the Hallmarking Laws.

I have appointed a Departmental Committee on hall-marking under the Chairmanship of Sir Leonard Stone, O.B.E. The other members are Lady Sempill, The Hon. W. D. Watson, W.S., Dr. J. H. Watson, M.B.E., M.C., Ph.D., B.Sc., A.R.S.M., M.I.M.M., F.I.M., Mr. J. F. Brown and Mr. R. H. King.The terms of reference of the Committee are to examine the state of the law on the assaying and hallmarking of precious metals, including the passing off of base metals as precious metals, and to recommend what revision of the law is desirable in the light of present day conditions.

Coal

Fuel Offices (Administration Committees)

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the present-day functions of the district fuel committees; how many there are; how often they meet; and what is the annual cost in staff and other expenses.

I presume my hon. Friend is referring to the committees set up by some local authorities to supervise the administration of the local fuel offices. These committees are the concern of the local authority, and I have no detailed knowledge of their activities.

Pneumatic Tyres (Monopolies Commission's Report)

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the Report of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission on the Supply and Export of Pneumatic Tyres.

The Report was published today. The Commission find that the conditions to which the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Inquiry and Control) Act, 1948, applies prevail as respects both the supply and the export of pneumatic tyres.Their conclusions and recommendations are in summary as follows:

(1) The discussions on prices which take place within the Tyre Manufacturers' Conference strengthen the tendency inherent in the structure of the industry to reduce price competition and are against the public interest. The Commission recommend that the T.M.C. should cease to concern itself with the question of price levels and price changes and that no other committee or organisation should be set up or employed by the tyre manufacturers for this purpose.

(2) The system under which identical prices to the consumer are collectively maintained is against the public interest. A majority of the Commission consider that, in the special circumstances of this industry, the only way to secure genuine price competition at the retail stage is to abolish the maintenance of retail prices and recommend that no manufacturer should prescribe the resale price of his tyres. A minority dissent from this recommendation which they do not think is justified by the circumstances of the industry; they recommend that the British Motor Trade Association should refrain from enforcing resale prices until the T.M.C. arrangements described in (1) above have been abandoned.

(3) The system by which the T.M.C. fix the discounts to be allowed to users whose aggregated expenditure on car and giant tyres in the replacement and mileage contract market exceeds £500 a year, is in present conditions against the public interest.

(4) The T.M.C. tyre inspection panels, which consider claims in respect of giant and agricultural tyres which have failed prematurely, are not against the public interest as they are operated at present.

(5) The industry's ban on the production of unbranded tyres promotes safety and is not against the public interest, but the Commission consider that the ban on the manufacture of private brand tyres for concerns outside the T.M.C. is restrictive of competition and is against the public interest. They recommend that this practice should be discontinued.

(6) The maintenance by the Tyre Trade Joint Committee of the Tyre Trade Register and, by the T.M.C., of the Agricultural and Earthmover Tyre Trade Register, the Aircraft Tyre Trade Register and (in so far as it relates to trade terms) the Aircraft Constructors Register, tends to create a privileged class of trader and is against the public interest. The Commission recommend that these registers should be discontinued and no similar registers should be compiled or maintained by any association concerned with the manufacture or distribution of tyres. They would not object, however, if the T.M.C. maintained lists of traders which could be circulated and recommended to manufacturers to observe or not as they pleased. A minority of the Commission, however, dissent from the recommendation that the Tyre Trade Register should be abolished, because they regard it as conducive to safety and efficiency in distribution.

(7) The limitation of best factor terms for cycle tyres to factors on the lists maintained by the British Cycle and Motor Cycle Manufacturers and Trades Union (the "Coventry Union") is against the public interest and should be discontinued.

(8) A system of controlled distribution of tyres, as operated under the Post-Control Tyre Distribution Plan from 1946 to 1954, would, if reintroduced in a market not short of supplies, restrict competition and would be against the public interest. The Commission have, however, no reason to expect that such a system will be reintroduced.

(9) The restrictions on advertising accepted by all members of the T.M.C. leave a sufficiently wide field open to allow all manufacturers a reasonable degree of competition and are not against the public interest.

(10) The Supplemental Agreement of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which requires tyre manufacturers to prohibit traders from exhibiting loose tyres at shows not approved under the Society's Bond, interferes with the legitimate interests of traders. In this way it is against the public interest and should be terminated.

(11) The arrangements under which tyre manufacturers operate mileage contracts involve some restriction of competition but are not against the public interest.

(12) Such consultations as take place between tyre manufacturers on the net prices to be charged to vehicle manufacturers on the "No Restriction" register although in a sense restrictive of competition, do not operate against the public interest.

(13) In the original equipment market the secret end-of-year allowances paid by the Dunlop Rubber Co. Ltd. to certain customers, and the secret monthly credits allowed by a smaller manufacturer, provide a form of clandestine price competition which, in the special circumstances of this industry, is better than no competition at all. They are therefore not against the public interest.

(14) The common scale of rebate, based on aggregated purchases, allowed by T.M.C. members to nine of the largest commercial vehicle manufacturers in the original equipment market does not attract business to one group of manufacturers at the expense of another and is not rigid in form. It does not therefore operate against the public interest.

(15) All the T.M.C.'s registers of vehicle and aircraft manufacturers entitled to special terms for tyres supplied as original equipment are against the public interest. The Commission recommend that they should be abolished and that the prescribing of various classes of original equipment terms should cease. They would, however, see no objection if lists of reputable vehicle and aircraft manufacturers were circulated for the information of tyre manufacturers, so long as the tyre manufacturers were under no obligation to observe the lists.

(16) The arrangement by which Dunlop set the export prices for all T.M.C. members, after confidential discussions with their foreign competitors, are not against the public interest.

(17) The interests of Dunlop in the distribution field and the methods by which they have been conducted have not tended to restrict competition and are not against the public interest.

(18) The dominant interest of Dunlop in the retreading industry has not in itself restricted competition, but their secret ownership of the two retreading concerns, the Regent Tyre & Rubber Co. Ltd. and Tyres (Scotland) Production Ltd., hampers the efficient organisation of their retreading business as a whole. The secrecy of these arrangements is, for this reason, against the public interest.

(19) The confidential allowances paid by Dunlop to certain distributors and motor dealers are not against the public interest.

(20) Apart from the specific matters dealt with above, Dunlop have not used their dominant position in the industry to the detriment of the public interest.

(21) The arrangements of the Retread Manufacturers Association promote safety and are not against the public interest.

(22) The discussions within the T.M.C. resulting in identical prices for retreading materials and members' remoulds are not against the public interest.

This report was signed by a group consisting of the Chairman and eight members of the Commission, selected by the Chairman under Section 2 (2) of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission Act, 1953. They were unanimous on all but two of the conclusions and recommendations summarised above. In the case of certain recommendations in items (2) and (6) four of the members dissented for the reasons given.

Volume 547: debated on Friday 9 December 1955