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RHA wants quotas

14th May 1983, Page 6
14th May 1983
Page 6
Page 6, 14th May 1983 — RHA wants quotas
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

GREATER discipline should be introduced into the British international road haulage industry, and many more checks should be introduced, especially at ro-ro ports.

The chairman of the Road Haulage Association international group, John Farrant, told Department of Transport officials this at a meeting on Monday and that the traditionally liberal stance of the RHA towards permits and quotas has undergone a radical change since the recession.

The RHA put forward a fivepoint plan, initiated by the international group and approved by the RHA national council. The plan seeks to introduce more order into international haulage.

The RHA wants port checks, on both British and foreign lor ries, to be greatly stepped up. In addition to checks on weights and hours the RHA considers that much greater attention should be devoted to whether operators have international Cr licences, and whether their permits are in order. And it wants checks, hitherto confined almost entirely to vehicles entering the country, carried out on vehicles travelling in both directions.

The RHA says there is a lack of clarity about how responsibility for port checks is shared between the DTp's own enforcement staff and the Customs and Excise Department. It adds that if adequate facilities cannot be made available by Government departments it "may have to consider introducing its own checks," though it does not indicate how this might be done.

As part of the tighter control the RHA wants trailers used internationally to be registered, though it recognises that this would involve an additional fee.

Existing international hauliers should also have priority when additional permits become available, thinks the RHA. Those who are fully using their current allocation should be offered more before those without allocations are considered.

The Association also wants further examination of the possibility of transferring taxation from vehicles to fuel, so that foreign vehicles would pay more than at present while in Britain.

But the RHA's major policy switch lies in its attitude towards capacity control. While acknowledging that in the past the RHA had actively supported the DTp in seeking to have quotas abolished, the Association now thinks that "limits through bilateral and multi-lateral quotas should be retained, and should be used to attempt to secure a more even balance between supply and demand." In addi tion, special measures may be neccessary to deal with severe recessions in trade.

Present bilateral quota levels are considered adequate, with the possible exception of transit quotas for Austria and Yugoslavia, (though the latter has just been increased slightly). The RHA wants future increases confined to the EEC quota, so that closer integration of transport services might be developed. However, it recognises that this is bound to be a slow process.

The DTp officials agreed to consider the proposals, but such a restrictive policy is unlikely to commend itself to the present Transport Secretary.


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