§ Mr. HAMILTON BENNasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention had been called to the systematic under-valuation of goods imported into Japan by which British traders who refuse to lend themselves to this practice are seriously prejudiced; and what steps he proposed to take to deal with the matter?
Mr. McKINNON WOODThis question has been brought to my notice principally in connection with the consumption tax on imported textiles, and His Majesty's Government some time ago invited the Japanese Government to consider whether they could not see their way to substitute specific consumption duties for duties on an ad valorem basis. At the time the Japanese Government were not prepared to adopt this suggestion; they, however, promised to consider it and the matter will not be lost sight of. I understand that in the new Japanese Customs Tariff it is proposed in many cases to replace the existing ad valorem by specific duties.