asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism if, in view of the difficulties being experienced by the Irish textile industry which will be further affected by the withdrawal of the employment maintenance subsidy, he has sought EEC approval for similar measures to those authorised for the United Kingdom to provide the same protection for this industry against American imports of synthetic textile fibres which enjoy an unfair competitive advantage because of American energy policy.
Written Answers. - Textile Industry Protection.
368.
As the Irish market has not been adversely affected by imports of American synthetic fibres, we have not made application to the EEC for approval to introduce similar measures to those sanctioned for the UK. A Community-wide surveillance system was recently established to monitor import trends and, in the event of US producers increasing their exports to the Community, we would in common with other member states press the Commission to introduce protective measures for the Community as a whole.
The measures approved for the UK should be of benefit to our synthetic fibre producers who export a substantial part of their production to that market.