§ 53. Mr. MANDERasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of schemes for a drawback of duty on goods exported which have been approved by or are under the consideration of the Import Duties Advisory Committee, and the particular industries affected?
The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. Here-Belisha)As regards the first part of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to a question by the hon. Member for West Bromwich (Mr. A. Ramsay) on the 1st December, since when two further applications have been received by the committee. It is not the 181 practice to disclose information as to individual applications unless and until they are advertised by the committee.
§ 12. Mr. HARTLAND (for Colonel GOODMAN)asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs what steps have been taken, in consultation with Dominion Governments, to give effect to the recommendation of the Ottawa Conference that it was desirable to secure a greater degree of uniformity of definition of Empire content?
Mr. THOMASThe recommendation of the Ottawa Conference was that each of the Governments of the Commonwealth should investigate the standard of Empire content which should be required by them, and that a greater degree of uniformity was desirable, though it must rest with each Government to decide what standard it would require. As my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade informed the House on the 29th November, the matter is under active consideration by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. HANNONCan my right hon. Friend now say when he expects a decision to be arrived at on this matter by the Dominions, and is he aware that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade told the House the other day that we were to have a statement in a very short time?
§ 20. Mr. HARTLAND (for Colonel GOODMAN)asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has taken any action to revise the percentage of content in the regulations issued by his Department in pursuance of Section 8 of the Finance Act, 1919, entitling goods to be deemed to have been manufactured in the British Empire; and, if not, whether it is proposed to amend such regulations?
§ Dr. BURGINI am not yet in a position to add anything to the reply which was given by my right hon. Friend on this subject to the hon. Member for West Bromwich (Mr. A. Ramsay) on the 29th November.
§ W. Mr. HOLDSWORTH (for Mr. HEPWORTH)asked the Chancellor of the 182 Exchequer whether the existence of a cartel agreement, limiting export activities to different countries, is taken into consideration by the Import Duties Advisory Committee in deciding on the appropriateness of applying any import duty to the protection of such goods whose export is limited as stated?
§ The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (Mr. Chamberlain)I have no doubt that the committee take into account all considerations which are relevant in the light of the instructions given to them in Section 3 of the Import Duties Act.