§ 16. Mr. Leonardasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention 1772 has been drawn to the recent official statement by the French Minister of Commerce deploring the lack of response from other governments to the French reduction of tariffs and quotas and urging that without some such response the French Government would not be able to maintain its position; and whether he gave any assurance to the French Government that efforts to respond to this gesture would be made by His Majesty's Government.
Mr. StanleyI have seen reports in the Press of the statement referred to. His Majesty's Government have throughout taken such action as they could to secure that the Tripartite Currency Declaration of September last should be followed by definite steps to promote international trade. To this end they and the French Government have been associated in the invitation which was accepted by the Prime Minister of Belgium to undertake informal inquiries into the possibility of secure a general relaxation of trade barriers.