asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the United Kingdom intends to impose tariffs on manufactured jute imports from India and Bangladesh on 1st January 1974.

The Community is discussing an Indian request which we support for the maintenance by the new member States of existing duty-free entry for Indian and Bangladesh jute goods after this year.

I take it that the Government are proposing that these exports from these developing countries should be duty free.

I have just answered the Question posed by the right hon. Gentleman. The request made by the Indians is currently under consideration and the United Kingdom has stressed the need for a speedy decision favourable to India and Bangladesh.

The right hon. and learned Gentleman must realise that this is a very serious matter and that it puts the credibility of the joint declaration on the Asian Commonwealth countries to the test.

Order. I must insist on the same rules for the front bench as for the back benchers. In other words, the point must be put in interrogative form.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that there have been reports which suggest that the United Kingdom tariff on jute goods from both India and Bangladesh will have to be imposed on 1st January Will he deny that?

It is not yet possible, because of the matters to which I have just referred, to say at what level the tariff on jute goods will be fixed from 1st January. However, the Community has already agreed to substantial reductions in the common external tariff on jute goods from India and Bangladesh as part of the new agreements reached with those countries.