Opposition benches the failure to provide security for Commonwealth Sugar Agreement producers. We constantly criticised the lack of arrangements for Commonwealth Sugar Agreement supplies after the end of 1974, which in fact turned out to be a time of world sugar famine-hence the crisis and the high prices we faced. But we have now got assured access for up to 1.4 million tons of sugar from developing countries, for which we pressed from 1971 onwards, so this objective has been achieved.
During this period of shortage, British refiners and manufacturers have purchased 170,000 tons of sugar to maintain continuity of supplies with the aid of Community subsidies of £36 million.
On access for New Zealand dairy produce, in the autumn of 1974 we secured an increase of 18 per cent. in the prices paid to New Zealand to ensure continued supplies, and at Dublin we got agreement on the broad lines of the continuing arrangements for access of New Zealand dairy produce after 1977.
No commitments had been made in 1971, but so far as butter is con- cerned the Commission has been instructed to prepare in the next three or four months a draft based on the maintenance of butter imports from New Zealand to Britain at around the level of 1974-75 deliveries-in other words, none of the degressivity which had been understood was to be brought about-together with price proposals to which the New Zealand Government attach the greatest importance.
On cheese, the Protocol to the Treaty of Entry ruled out any more access for New Zealand cheese of the kind provided for in 1973-77. But last week's statement has left the matter open, and we have given notice that we shall pursue it in the Protocol 18 review. We shall press this urgently indeed.
Improved access for other foodstuffs has been secured as a result of GATT negotiations, the trade sections of the Lomé Convention, the Mediter- ranean agreement and the Community's 1975 Generalised Scheme of Pre- ferences which has now been agreed; improved access, too, for tropical oils, Canadian cheddar, soluble coffee and lard, though no achievement yet on access for certain other foods such as canned fruit and hard wheat. We have requested levy-free quotas for hard wheat and flour, and put on record that we shall at an early date seek elimination or reduction of the tariff on New Zealand lamb.
OBJECTIVE Two
Community Budget
The manifesto commitment was:
<
>
"New and fairer methods of financing the Community budget. Neither the taxes that form the so-called own resources of the Communities, nor the purposes, mainly agricultural support, on which the funds are mainly to be spent, are accept- able to us. We would be ready to contribute to Community finances only such sums as were fair in relation to what is paid and what is received by other Member countries."
It rapidly became clear that we could best secure our objectives not by seeking to overturn the system of financing the budget from own resources" but by correcting its unfair impact by a mechanism which would provide a refund to us.
I reported to the House a week ago, and set out the corrective mech- anism proposals, which as I said were an improvement on the Commission's
5
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.