§ 42. Mr. Bellengerasked the President of the Board of Trade whether any agreements arrived at in the negotiations now proceeding between the Federation of British Industries and the Reichsgruppe-Industrie are to be embodied in the form of cartels; and whether such undertakings will be dependent on antecedent approval by this House?
§ Mr. StanleyI am not in a position to forecast the contents of any agreements that may be concluded as the result of the projected negotiations between certain British industries and their German competitors. They will, no doubt, vary according to the circumstances of the particular industries. I cannot say in advance whether any of these agreements will be such as to require Parliamentary approval.
§ Mr. Arthur HendersonWill these negotiations be conducted by representatives of the Federation of British Industries as such, or by representatives of each industry and their opposite German numbers? Further, may I ask whether in any agreements that may be reached the political considerations of such agreements will be considered before they come into effect?
§ Mr. StanleyThe answer to the first part of the question is, I think, that there will be first of all a general discussion between representatives of the Federation of British Industries, and the Reichsgruppe, and thereafter discussions between individual industries. With regard to the second part of the question, I am certain that representatives of the Federation of British Industries will have the national as well as the sectional interests in view.