§ 12. Sir John Wardlaw-Milneasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the export from this country of Oriental carpets originally from Persia, Iraq, China, etc., to Denmark under the same certificate as those of United Kingdom manufacture; whether he is aware that these carpets have only passed through a slight process of washing in this country; that the result of these exports is to reduce the already limited quota allotted for the import of British carpets into Denmark, thus seriously affecting the trade in this country; and what action the Board of Trade is taking in the matter?
§ Dr. BurginThe Board of Trade considered a similar question in 1935 in con- 975 nection with the Anglo-German Payments Agreement and decided that certificates of United Kingdom origin might be issued in respect of Oriental carpets fully processed in the United Kingdom. Such certificates should not be issued in respect of imported carpets which have been merely cleaned in this country. If my hon. Friend will let me have full particulars of cases in which the certificates have been used for carpets which have been only washed in this country, I will look into the matter.
§ Sir J. Wardlaw-MilneI am much obliged to my hon. Friend, but may I further ask him whether it is really necessary to include these carpets in the quota at all?