§ 39. Mr. GRAHAM WHITEasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will state the reasons why crude peanut oil has been withdrawn from Schedule F of the Anglo-Canadian Agreement concluded at Ottawa; and whether this has been done with the consent of the Government?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister)It has been represented to me on behalf of His Majesty's Government in Canada that the inclusion of this item in the schedule of preferences granted to the Colonial Empire by Canada had been made under accidental circumstances and had been found on later examination to cause them embarrassment. In the circumstances I felt that I had no option hot to agree to its withdrawal.
§ Mr. WHITEIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that as a result of the publication of the Canadian Agreement, including that product, contracts were made and engagements entered into which are likely to result in considerable losses to those entering into them; and will he look into the matter again?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERThat, I think, only partly states the case, and I may state it plainly. The position was this, that so far as Great Britain was concerned, a proposal was made by the President of the Board of Trade that this item should be included in the United Kingdom agreement. That proposal was declined by Canada. Canada, however, agreed that it might go into the colonial Preferences. The result was that the Ottawa Agreement, as signed, bound the Canadian Government to give a preference to peanut oil from the Colonial Empire but not if it came from the United Kingdom. Therefore, even if I had stood by the terms of the agreement, I should not have been conferring any right on the United Kingdom manufacturer.