asked the Taoiseach if he has seen the statement by the British Lord Privy Seal, Mr. Heath, at a meeting of the Western European Union Foreign Ministers, that if the Six Common Market Countries can meet the British Commonwealth on agricultural difficulties, the United Kingdom can consider a system based on a common or harmonised traiff on raw materials and manufactured goods imported from countries other than the Seven of E.F.T.A. or the Commonwealth; if so, if he will state what implication this proposal might have for this country; and if any consultations have taken place between Great Britain and this country on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Trade Discussions: Statement by British Minister.
1.
I have seen the statement mentioned by the Deputy.
I should, perhaps, remark that the part of the statement to which the Deputy specifically refers was not precisely in the terms given in the question. What the British Lord Privy Seal said, I understand, was that, if the Six could meet Britain's Commonwealth and agricultural difficulties, Britain could then consider a system of the kind indicated by the Deputy.
The Deputy will appreciate the difficulty of determining the implications for this country of the introduction by Britain of a common or harmonised tariff on raw materials and manufactured goods, without our knowing more about the field of operation of that tariff and the arrangements made in the matter of British trade policy in relation to agriculture and Commonwealth imports. In addition, the proposals outlined by Mr. Heath are still only in an exploratory stage, and any opinion expressed at the present time about their further development would be highly speculative.
The question of the British position in relation to the Common Market and the possible repercussions of that position on this country has been the subject of frequent exchanges with the British authorities, and we shall continue to follow these matters with the closest possible attention, bearing carefully in mind our very material interest in any arrangements affecting British relations with the European Economic Community and our own situation in regard both to the British market and to the Community.
Would the Taoiseach not agree that the indications now appear to be greater than ever that Great Britain is going to associate herself in some shape or form with the Common Market Six? If that is so, does the Taoiseach not think that now is the time to assess the likely impact on our industrial and agricultural exports of such a scheme and particularly the effect of a common tariff?
I am not going to engage in any game of guessing. The Deputy may be assured that this process of assessing the possible effects on the economy of this country of any change in the situation is going on continuously.