thirty-six per cent of our imports come from the commonwealth ; but I think I am correct in saying that over 20 per cent of metropolitan France &apos;s imports come from territories having a special relationship with her . be that as it may , the trade is of very great importance to the commonwealth countries concerned . for example , among the dependent or newly independent countries , Mauritius sends 82 per cent of her exports to the United Kingdom ; Sierra Leone 70 per cent ; and Nigeria 51 per cent . of the older commonwealth countries , New Zealand is also heavily dependent on the United Kingdom market , sending 56 per cent of her exports to us . the proportions of their exports which Australia , India and Ceylon send to the United Kingdom are of the order of 30 per cent . 32 . on the assumption that there is general recognition of the need to devise satisfactory arrangements to protect vital interests of commonwealth countries , and with this background in mind , I think it would be helpful to suggest in more detail how the problem might be split up into its different components , and how each of these might be treated . 33 . I would like to begin with the less developed members of the commonwealth and those territories which are still dependent . may I start by trying to describe briefly the nature and needs of these countries and territories ? of the dependent territories some are moving towards independence and at least one , Tanganyika , will be an independent member of the commonwealth by the time our negotiations are completed . for others we can not foresee , at any rate for some time to come , a constitutional position more advanced than that of internal self-government . of the less developed countries which are already independent members of the commonwealth , three - Ghana , Nigeria and Sierra Leone - are in Africa ; four - India , Pakistan , Ceylon and Malaya - are in Asia ; and one , Cyprus , is in Europe . apart from Cyprus , Malta , Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands , all these countries and territories have tropical or sub-tropical climates . they nearly all produce tropical products and raw materials many of which are also produced by the countries and territories at present associated with the community under part 4 of the treaty of Rome . many of them are seeking to establish secondary industries in order to diversify their economies and reduce their very great dependence upon imports . India , Pakistan and Hong Kong are also exporters of certain manufactured goods ; and some others , such as Malta and the West Indies , hope to follow their example , though on a much smaller scale . 34 . all these countries and territories attach importance to the preferences and duty-free entry which they enjoy in the United Kingdom market . there are a few other special arrangements , which are vital to certain of them . for some territories it is also of importance - in some cases of great importance - to be able to compete in the markets of the rest of Europe on equal terms with other exporters of similar products . they would certainly not understand if , as a result of becoming a member of the community , the United Kingdom were obliged to discriminate against them in favour of other non-European countries . another feature of many of these countries and territories is that their need to encourage industrial development and their unavoidable reliance on indirect taxation for revenue makes it necessary for them to put tariffs on imports of manufactured goods . 35 . in considering the problems which our entry into the common market would create for these countries and territories we have studied with great interest the arrangements laid down in part 4 of the treaty of Rome and in the related convention for the association with the E.E.C of certain overseas countries and territories with whom members of that community previously had special relations . some commonwealth countries have expressed the opinion that the present arrangements for association are not appropriate for independent states . but this view may not apply to the new arrangements when it is known what they will be . in any case we should like to see the less developed members of the commonwealth , and our dependent territories , given the opportunity , if they so wish , to enter into association with the community on the same terms as those which will in future be available to the present associated overseas countries and territories . this is something we shall need to discuss , and we know that you are already at work on a review of the present arrangements for association . some commonwealth countries may feel that some other arrangements might suit them better . we would not wish to prejudge any solutions they may decide to propose . 36 . association may , therefore , be a solution for the problems of many commonwealth countries and territories . but for others it may not be possible . one way of dealing with the problems of those who are not associated would be to arrange for them to maintain unimpaired their rights of access to the United Kingdom market , in the same way as was done for Morocco &apos;s trade with France , or for Surinam &apos;s trade with Benelux , under the relevant protocol to the Rome treaty . but we recognise that this solution would not be applicable in all cases . another method of proceeding would be to consider the problems on a commodity-by-commodity basis . perhaps it would be helpful if I were to say something , at this point , about the main groups of commodities - tropical products , materials , manufactures and temperate foodstuffs . 37 . difficulties will arise over tropical products if one or more of the less-developed countries or territories of the commonwealth do not enter into an appropriate form of association with the community . there does not appear to be any complete solution of such difficulties . but we see two alternative lines of approach . the first , which would be appropriate when not only equality of opportunity but also some measure of protection is essential , would be to grant free entry into the United Kingdom market alone for the commonwealth country or territory which is not associated , and then to fix the common tariff of the enlarged community at a level which would safeguard the interests both of that country and of the countries and territories associated with the community . the second line of approach would be to fix a zero , or a very low , level for the common tariff . for a few important commodities we believe that it would be possible to do this without significant damage to the interests of the countries and territories associated with the community . for example , tea is a commodity of great importance to India and Ceylon , and so is cocoa to Ghana . a zero common tariff would go a considerable way to meet the trade problems of those countries if they were not solved by association . 38 . materials should not in general give rise to difficulties , as the common tariff on most of them is zero . there are , however , a few on which it is substantial . five of them - aluminium , wood pulp , newsprint , lead and zinc - are of great importance to certain commonwealth countries : on these five materials we would wish to seek a zero tariff . 39 . manufactures are , with a very few exceptions , imported duty-free into the United Kingdom both from the developed countries in the commonwealth - Canada , Australia and New Zealand - and from the less developed Asian countries . exporting industries in all these countries have been assisted in their development by free entry and the preferential position they have enjoyed in the United Kingdom . they would be seriously affected , not only by loss of preferences in our market , but also if their position were transformed into one in which the whole of their export trade was affected by reverse preferences in favour of the major industrial countries in Europe . nevertheless we recognise that indefinite and unlimited continuation of free entry over the whole of this field may not be regarded as compatible with the development of the common market and we are willing to discuss ways of reconciling these two conflicting considerations . I believe that the problem is of manageable proportions . the trade in question is important to the commonwealth countries concerned but it is not large in total in comparison with European trade . 40 . the problem arises in a special form for manufactures from the less-developed countries , the so-called low cost manufactures . it occurs most acutely in relation to Asian commonwealth countries and the colony of Hong Kong . there is increasing international recognition that developed countries have a duty to facilitate international trade in this field as much as they can . but what the nature of the solution should be in the context of our joining the E.E.C , must depend on how far it can be dealt with under arrangements for a part 4 association . you will probably agree that it would not be in the general interest that the United Kingdom should erect fresh tariff barriers to cut back such trade . 41 . a major concern of the more fully developed members of the commonwealth is their trade with us in temperate foodstuffs . Australia , New Zealand , and Canada , in particular , have vital interests in this field for which special arrangements must be made . 42 . I should like to give you some figures to demonstrate how essential to these countries exports of temperate foodstuffs are . New Zealand &apos;s total exports in 1959 were valued at &amp;pound;290 million . of these &amp;pound;170 million worth , or about 60 per cent , were temperate foodstuffs . &amp;pound;130 million worth , out of the total &amp;pound;170 million , came to the United Kingdom . the bulk of these exports to us consisted of mutton , lamb , butter and cheese . over 90 per cent of total exports of these commodities came to the United Kingdom . if in the future New Zealand can not , by one means or another , be assured of comparable outlets for them , her whole economy will be shattered . New Zealand &apos;s problem is particularly acute because of her dependence on a relatively limited range of exports . but other commonwealth commodity problems are the same in kind if not in degree . for example Australia , even though she exports a much more varied range of products , relies on temperate foodstuffs for 35 per cent of her exports . the temperate foodstuffs she sends abroad are valued at &amp;pound;250 million : of these &amp;pound;100 million worth come to the United Kingdom . I hope that these figures will help to illustrate the problem . but figures alone can not tell the whole story . we must bear in mind the effect of what we do both on particular localities and on individual producers in commonwealth countries . 43 . to many commonwealth countries the United Kingdom has both moral and contractual obligations , on the basis of which they have planned the development of their economies . I will mention only the commonwealth sugar agreement with which you are all familiar since it is recognised in the international sugar agreement . it provides an assured basis for sugar production which is particularly important in the case of our dependent territories . 44 . the problem therefore is to reconcile our obligations to the commonwealth with the common agricultural policy as it evolves . we believe that solutions can be found which will prove satisfactory . the commission &apos;s proposals emphasise that trade policy in agricultural products should take into account , not only internal agricultural considerations , but also the need to maintain trade with third countries . this is a liberal approach and one with which we fully agree . 45 . I therefore hope that we can reach agreement in principle that full regard should be paid to the interests of the commonwealth producers concerned , and that they should be given in the future the opportunity of outlets for their produce comparable to those they now enjoy . 46 . the precise form of the special arrangements needed to protect vital interests of commonwealth countries in this field will need careful consideration . to a large extent it must depend on the way in which the common agricultural policy is developed . we want to work jointly with you in examining these problems and their relation to the common agricultural policy . 