§ Mr. NORTON GRIFFITHSasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the recent Treaty under which the Canadian Government have agreed to remove the surtax on German imports into Canada; and what steps he proposes to take to counteract the encroachments by Germany on the trade which is now carried on between the United Kingdom and the Dominion of Canada?
Mr. BUXTONA Provisional Agreement has been arrived at, under which, on and after the 1st March, Canada will abolish the surtax imposed on German goods since 1903 in return for the application of the German conventional tariff rates to certain of her products. German goods imported into Canada will thus cease to be subjected to worse treatment than goods from most other foreign countries, including the United States, but will not, of course, enjoy the advantages of the preferential tariff accorded to goods from the United Kingdom. It is not anticipated that the change will have any material effect upon the trade of the United Kingdom with the Dominion.