§ 33. Sir PATRICK HANNONasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has been in communication with the Government of the Argentine Republic as to the duty upon foreign linseed imposed as a result of the Ottawa Agreements Act; and can he make a statement on the matter?
§ Sir P. HANNONWill this important matter be taken into consideration in the consultation which is now in progress with the Argentine?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANMy hon. Friend asked me whether I have been in communication with the Argentine on this subject, and I said "No."
§ 42. Mr. CULVERWELLasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can give an estimate of the real trade balance for 1935 between Argentina and Great Britain, taking into account invisible as well as visible exports and making allowance for re-export from this country of imports from Argentina?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANIn the absence of reliable information regarding the invisible items, apart from the revenue from British investments in the Argentine, I regret that I am unable to furnish the desired information. As regards income from investments, I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. and gallant Member for Wycombe (Sir A. Knox) on 12th May.
§ Mr. H. G. WILLIAMSHaving regard to the fact that the information is not available, will my right hon. Friend tell me how the trade agreement with the Argentine will be carried into effect, particularly its financial provisions?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANIf my hon. Friend cares to put down a question I will give him such information as he desires.
§ 44. Sir EUGENE RAMSDENasked the President of the Board of Trade what was the amount of sterling exchange allocated by the Argentine Government to United Kingdom interests in the period from the conclusion of the Roca Treaty to the end of 1935; and whether he is satisfied that this amount fairly represents the proportion agreed upon under the terms of the treaty?
§ Mr. RUNCIMAN£81,747,000. Subject to certain adjustments which are under discussion, I have no reason to think that the figure just quoted does not fairly represent the amount to which this country has been entitled under the Agreement of 1933.
§ Mr. H. G. WILLIAMSHaving regard to the earlier statement of the right hon. Gentleman that he had not got the information, can he tell me how he is now satisfied that we are to get a square deal?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANThat is a different question.