§ 32. Captain BARNETTasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the importation of supplies necessary for the producton of war material is at present retarded by the multiplicity of permits required; and, if so, whether steps can be taken to render the Department of Import Restrictions, acting in consultation with other Departments, solely responsible for permits to bring in material, so that the one permit granted by that Department shall, within the limits of available shipping space, constitute a complete authority to buy, ship, and import goods to which it refers?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Sir Albert Stanley)I am fully alive to the hindrance to trade caused by a multiplicity of permits, and I should welcome any practicable method of simplifying the requirements. Under present conditions, however, I doubt if the particular remedy suggested in the question is feasible. Generally speaking, supplies necessary for the production of war material are not subject to import restrictions, but shipment is necessarily dependent on freight available, and this can be provided only by the Shipping Controller in consultation with the Departments concerned. Supplies which are subject to import restrictions, and all orders placed on private account in the United States of America, require the approval of the Import Restrictions Department. Permission to order carries with it the Department's consent to import, but it has not so far 1977 been found possible to guarantee shipping space. The new control over purchases in the United States is being organised with the assistance of a Committee representing Departments responsible for war supplies. So far as possible, the permit system will in this way be centralised and rendered uniform.