§ 6. Sir EUGENE RAMSDENasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that wool textile goods of Italian manufacture are being imported into this country via Austria; and whether he is prepared to take such action as may be necessary to stop this breach in the sanctions against Italy?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANI am not aware that wool textile goods of Italian manufacture are being illegally imported into this country via Austria. I would, however, remind my hon. Friend that goods with an added value of 25 per cent. attributable to processes carried out since the goods left Italian territory fall outside the scope of the prohibition of imports from Italy. This exception, which follows the terms of the relevant proposal of the Co-ordination Committee of the League of Nations, is subject, in the case of wool textiles from Austria, to the production of satisfactory certificates of origin.
§ Mr. LEACHWill the right hon. Gentleman convey to the Foreign Secretary the information that he has just now given to the House, because that gentleman is under some delusion on the matter?
§ Mr. H. G. WILLIAMSCan the right hon. Gentleman say, from the indications that reach him, whether there is any great enthusiasm on the part of traders for sanctions?
§ 11. Mr. LEACHasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will consent to withdraw the regulations of his Department which allow importers of textile goods from Japan, Italy, Austria, 1499 and elsewhere, in the grey to have such goods dyed, bleached, or finished in this country, and then to re-export them as being of British origin?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANAs I explained to the hon. Member in reply to his question of 28th April, the decision whether foreign textiles finished in this country and re-exported are thereafter to be regarded as of United Kingdom or foreign origin rests not with His Majesty's Government, but with the Government of the importing country. In these circumstances no regulations laid down by my Department are applicable. In certain countries, however, in pursuance of trade agreements or otherwise, a reserved share of the market has been in some way guaranteed for United Kingdom textiles (as, for example, under the operation of quotas or exchange restrictions). In such cases the desirability is recognised of ensuring that the benefit should so far as possible inure only to textiles which are wholly of United Kingdom manufacture. As previously explained, special steps designed to bring about this result have been, or are being taken, in these cases. As regards imports of textiles into this country from Italy, I would remind the hon. Member that such imports are at present prohibited.
§ Mr. LEACHI should like to be clear about this. Do I understand the right hon. Gentleman to say that textile goods brought into this country in the grey and then re-exported as of British origin after being finished here are under an arrangement with which his Department has no power to interfere, and that the certificate that they are of British origin is not delivered by his Department at all?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANNo, what I said was that in the circumstances described in the first part of my answer no regulations laid down by my Department are applicable.
§ Mr. REMERIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that large quantities of Japanese cloth are being bleached and dyed in Lancashire and Cheshire and being exported to the West Indies as British cloth?