§ 6. Mr. ISAAC FOOTasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any information with regard to the complaint that Norwegian-caught shellfish have been included within the quantity of shellfish imported into France under the existing quota system; and whether steps will be taken to ensure that the quantity allowed under the quota shall consist only of shellfish caught by British fishermen?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANThe complaint to which, I assume, my hon. Friend is referring, was brought to the notice of the French authorities, who then discovered that certain consignments of foreign crustacea had been wrongly declared as of United Kingdom origin. The United Kingdom quota was adjusted accordingly. At the same time the French Government instituted a requirement that all crustacea imported into France must be accompanied by certificates of origin issued by the Customs in the country of origin.
§ 7. Mr. FOOTasked the President of the Board of Trade whether any representations have been made to the French Government in respect of the quota restrictions imposed on the imports of British-caught shellfish; and whether the exhaustion of the quota for the current year involves the prohibition of such imports up to June of this year?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANThe reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, the French Government state that the excess of imports from the United Kingdom in 1934 over the quotas allotted was such that imports into France of fresh crustacea from the United Kingdom cannot be permitted before the 11th June next.