EARL of RONALDSHAYasked what proportion of the imports into France from the United Kingdom and the United States of America respectively was benefited by the reductions of rates of duty originally proposed to be levied under the revised French Customs tariff?
§ Mr. SYDNEY BUXTONThe new French tariff introduces a very large number of new tariff headings, and in many important cases the reductions of duty from the rates originally proposed affected subdivisions of the tariff which are not separately distinguished in the French, British, or United States statistics. For this reason it is, I am afraid, impossible to give even an approximate estimate of the proportion of the imports 1068 from the United Kingdom or the United States which benefited by these reductions. I may, however, point out that whilst the United Kingdom enjoys the minimum tariff rates on all the goods that she produces and send to France, the United States secures the application of the minimum tariff to less than half of her trade, so that we are in a materially better position than the United States in this matter.
EARL of RONALDSHAYIs it not a fact that the result of the tariff concessions to the United States by France cover something like 96 per cent. of the whole import trade from the United States to France?
§ Mr. SYDNEY BUXTONThe material position, so far as we are concerned, is that we have obtained from France greater advantages in minimum tariffs than the United States; that is, a Free Trade country has obtained better advantages than a protected country.