§ 50. Mr. CRAVEN-ELLISasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce legislation to impose special duties against goods coming from countries which have depreciated their currencies since the date of the Import Duties Act, 1932?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINI would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave to the hon. Members for Moseley (Mr. Hannon) and for North-East Derby (Mr. Whyte) on the 23rd November. The position has not changed materially since then.
§ 51. Mr. CRAVEN-ELLISasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will furnish a complete list of countries which have depreciated their currencies in relation to sterling since the date of the Abnormal Importations Act, 1931, showing in each case the par value of such 1103 currencies, the value as at the date of the Abnormal Importations Act, 1931, at the date of the Import Duties Act, 1932, and the value at the latest recorded date; and will he state to what extent the depreciation of foreign currencies has discounted the import duties imposed by this country?
| Quotations to £ sterling except where otherwise stated. | Date of the Abnormal Importations Act. 20th Nov., 1931. | Date of the Import Duties Act. 29th Feb., 1932. | Current quotation. 15th Dec, 1933. | ||
| Parity. | |||||
| Greece | … | 375 dr. | 300 | 270 | 580 |
| Finland | … | 193.23 mks. | 192 | 220 | 226½ |
| Austria | … | 34.59 sch. | 28 | 32 | 29½ |
| Jugoslavia | … | 276.32 din. | 220 | 195 | 240 |
| Estonia | … | 18.16 kr. | 14 | 13 | 18¼ |
| Norway | … | 18.16 kr. | 18.56 | 18.44 | 19.90 |
| Sweden | … | 18.16 kr. | 18.44 | 18.12 | 19.40 |
| Denmark | … | 18.16 kr. | 18.56 | 18.19 | 22.40 |
| Japan* | … | yen= 2s. 0.58d. | 2s. 7⅓ 7/2 d. | 1s. 9 5/16d. | 1s. 2⅓ 5/2 d. |
| Philippine Islands* | … | peso= 24.66d. | 2s. 6¼ d. | 2s. 10½ d. | 1s. 11⅜ d. |
| Argentina | … | $= 47.62d. | 37⅛ d. | 38¾ d. | 35⅞ d. |
| Peru | … | 17.38 soles. | 13.40 | 12.275 | 23.05 |
| Mexico | … | 9.76 pesos. | 10.25 | 9.375 | 17.75 |
| Canada | … | 4.86⅔ $. | 4.25 3/1 3/6 | 3.94½ | 5.09¾ |
| United States. | … | 4.86⅔ $. | 3.74 | 3.48 | 5.13½ |
| New Zealand† | … | £110 11s. 3d. | £110 11s. 3d. | £125 7s. 6d. | |
| South Africa† | … | £82 10s. 0d. | £74 0s. 0d. | £100 7s. 6d. | |
| Bolivia | … | 13.33 bols. | 13.03 | 13.10 | 20.00 |
| Colombia | … | 5 pesos. | 4.20 | 36.2 | 7.74 |
| Ecuador | … | 24.3325 suc. | 20.50 | 20.68 | 30.96 |
| Salvador | … | 9.73 cols. | 8.44 | 8.62 | 16.70 |
| Chile | … | 40.00 pesos. | 30.90 | 29.10 | ‡ |
| (19th Nov., 1931) | (25th Feb., 1932) | ||||
| * Pence to local currency. | |||||
| † Rate per £100 sterling. | |||||
| ‡ Quotations on Chile are nominal and the depreciation since February, 1932 (which is heavy), cannot be exactly measured. |