A 74
*
HNSYVERED
B
353
Written Answers
Recruitment Advertising
Written Answers
20 JUNE 1977
354 detailed discussion in a working party of the Council later this year.
Mr. James Lamond asked the Sec- retary of State for Defence what is the average cost, per recruit obtained, of advertising in connection with recruitment to the Armed Services.
Mr. Wellbeloved: In the last financial year about £3-35 million was spent on advertising in aid of Service recruitment and a total of 40,244 recruits were entered. On this simple basis the average advertis- ing cost of each recruit is about £83, but this average is misleading, since advertis- ing is concentrated mainly on personnel in current shortage categories.
TRADE
Multi-Fibre Arrangement
Mr. Kenneth Clarke asked the Sec- retary of State for Trade how the Govern- ment will represent the views of the Hong Kong Government in negotiations on the future of the Multi-Fibre Agreement when the Hong Kong Government are opposed to the proposals of the EEC and the British Government on the future of that agreement.
Mr. Meacher: As I explained in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley) on 12th. May, while the United Kingdom is responsible for Hong Kong's GATT rights and obligations, the views of the Hong Kong Government are in practice represented in GATT talks on the Multi- fibre Arrangement by officials of the Hong Kong Government sitting as part of the United Kingdom delegation.
Self-employed Commercial Agents
Mr. Kenneth Clarke asked the Sec- retary of State for Trade whether Her Majesty's Government intend to imple- ment the recent directive of the European Council of Ministers on the status of self-employed commercial agents.
Mr. Meacher: The Council has issued no directive on this subject. A proposal for a directive was submitted to the Council by the Commission in December 1976 and is now before the European Assembly and the Economic and Social Committee for their opinions. The pro- posal is expected to be remitted for
27 E 12
Uganda
Mr. Nicholas Winterton asked the Sec- retary of State for Trade (1) what was the value of United Kingdom exports to Uganda during 1976 ;
(2) what was the value of Ugandan exports to the United Kingdom during 1976.
Mr. Meacher: Exports were valued at £11 million fob and imports £32 million cif. The information is published in the December 1976 issue of the Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom, available in the House of Commons Library.
Steel
Mr. David Watkins asked the Secretary of State for Trade ) if he will raise the United States steel court action against EEC remision of value added tax on exports of steel to the USA at the current General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade negotiations on tariff cutting ;
(2) what talks he is having with other Common Market Governments and with the United States Government about the threat to EEC exports of seel to the USA represented by the United States steel court action against remission of value added tax.
Mr. Meacher: We are in close touch
with our Community partners on this question. Both we and the Community as a whole have expressed to the US Administration our grave concern at the situation which could arise should the present appeal to the US Customs Court against the US Treasury decision be suc- cessful. We have said that we expect them to take any measures necessary to ensure that Community exports suffer no disruption. We would certainly wish to consider with our Community partners the possibility of raising the matter for- mally in the GATT if the Customs Court decides against the US Treasury. Community is supporting the Japanese complaint to the GATT Council about action which the US has taken in relation to imports of consumer electronic products from Japan following a ruling of the Customs Court relating to remission of a Japanese commodity tax. It is also
The
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