§ MR. D. A. THOMAS (Merthyr Tydvil)To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether the difficulty mentioned in the prefatory note to the Annual State of the Trade of the United Kingdom, of distinguishing between imports of Canadian produce and produce of the United States which finds its way to this country via Canadian ports in the summer months, has vet been surmounted.
(Answered by Mr. Gerald Balfour.) No, Sir. Without legislation giving the Customs power to require certificates of "origin it is not possible to distinguish accurately either the imports of United States produce that are shipped to the United Kingdom from Canadian ports in the summer, or those of Canadian produce that are shipped from United States ports in the winter. Where, however, the documents accompanying such produce enable the country of consignment to be ascertained, it is credited by the Customs to that country.