§ 22. Mr. KILEYasked the President of the Board of Trade if, in addition to the 540 commodities to which objections have been taken under Part I of the Safeguarding of Industries Act, over 300 applica- 1486 tions have been made, representing over 100 different trades, for the imposition of a duty; if so, what arrangement he proposes to make to deal with the same; if he is aware of the serious difficulties caused to trade by the delay in dealing with these applications, as manufacturers are reluctant to make contracts, which have to be made many months in advance for their raw materials, and traders are reluctant to print their price lists and also to approach their overseas buyers owing to the uncertainties that might arise in the event of a duty being imposed before they could complete their contracts?
§ Mr. BALDWINThe answer to the first part of the question, which I assume relates to Part I of the Act, is in the negative. The number of 540 commodities mentioned by the hon. Member includes complaints under Section 1 (5) both as to inclusion in and exclusion from the lists issued by the Board of Trade, as indicated in the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Lambeth North on the 13th February. I am not aware of the difficulties to which the hon. Member refers, and I have received no representations on the subject. As I have previously stated, it is only in a very limited number of cases that complainants have indicated their intention of proceeding with the complaints.