HC Deb 12 February 1946 vol 419 cc178-80
53. Lieut.-Colonel Byers

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the major items of imports into this country upon which dollars have been expended during the past year, giving the total dollars spent on each item with particular reference to films and tobacco.

53. Mrs. Leah Manning

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the amount in dollars expended with the U.S.A. on films, tobacco, petrol, foodstuffs and miscellaneous commodities, respectively, since the ending of Lend-Lease.

Mr. Dalton

I am circulating in the Official Report figures showing the principal imports from the United States in 1945 as a whole, and in the last four months of that year when Lend-Lease had ended.

Mr. Manning

In making these allocations, is the need for food or the need for revenue the dominating factor? Will my right hon. Friend, in the difficult period we are now facing, consider the possibility of concentrating the whole of our dollar expenditure on food?

Mr. Dalton

This is a matter which is due for Debate on Thursday, when I hope to be successful in catching Mr. Speaker's eye.

Mr. J. Lewis

Cannot the Chancellor undertake to lend support to any acceptable proposals to establish production in this country or in the Empire of those raw materials for which we have previously relied on the United States.

Mr. Dalton

That is going a little wide of the Question. Perhaps this matter might be raised on Thursday too.

Following are the figures:

Imports from the United States of America.
Category in Trade Returns. Commodity. Year 1945. Sept.-Dec., 1945.
(£000) (£000)
I.A. … Maize … … … … … … … … 1,488 —
Peas and beans … … … … … … … 962 331
Wheat meal and flour … … … … … … 2,733 1,289
Other grain and flour … … … … … … 913 63
I.D. … Bacon and hams … … … … … … … 3,007 2
… Pork … … … … … … … … 8,344 —
Other descriptions of meat … … … … … 1,219 17
I.E. … Cheese … … … … … … … … 3,630 1,171
Dried Eggs … … … … … … … 9,596 1,8l8
Unsweetened condensed milk … … … … … 2,675 496
Unsweetened milk powder … … … … … 1,822 271
I.F. … Apples … … … … … … … … 460 —
I.G. … Unfermented fruit juice … … … … … … 627 231
I.H. … Bladders, casings and sausage skins … … … … 494 54
Raisins … … … … … … … … 1,730 —
Lard … … … … … … … … 4,905 1,203
Canned vegetables … … … … … … 1,441 77
All other food and drink … … … … … … 3,087 369
I.I. … Unmanufactured tobacco … … … … … 43,996 10,992
II.B. … Sulphur … … … … … … … … 1,690 497
II.E. … Sawn timber—
Oak … … … … … … … … 1,273 532
Other descriptions … … … … … … 1,815 812
Other wood and timber … … … … … … 749 136
11.F. … Raw cotton … … … … … … … 14.355 2,938
II.J. … Crude petroleum … … … … … … … 1,539 293
11.K. … Undressed fur skins … … … … … … 1,718 1,648
ILL. … Dry chemical wood pulp … … … … … … 1,643 84
II.M. … Synthetic rubber … … … … … … … 6,143 1,342
II.N. … Agricultural and horticultural seeds … … … … 1,070 133
III.C. … Iron and steel … … … … … … … 2,460 1
III.D. … Electrolytic copper … … … … … … 1,345 88
Other non-ferrous metals … … … … … 906 95
III.E. … Cinematograph film—
Blank … … … … … … … … 313 5
Exposed … … … … … … … … 148 60
Other cutlery hardware implements and instruments … 2,567 424
III.F. … Wireless apparatus … … … … … … 9,121 647
Other electrical goods and apparatus … … … … 3,835 136
III.G. … Machine tools … … … … … … … 2,814 680
Other machinery … … … … … … … 13,412 1,972
III.H. … Plywood … … … … … … … … 3,455 1,122
Prefabricated houses … … … … … … 5,525 2,477
III.I. … Grey unbleached cotton piece-goods … … … … 875 141
III.K. … Silk and artificial silk yarns and manufactures … … 1,306 95
III.M. … Apparel … … … … … … … … 2,410 152
III.O. … Carbon blacks from natural gas … … … … … 1,606 563
All other chemicals, drugs, dyes and colours … … … 5,627 695
III.P. … Refined petroleum … … … … … … 115,798 10,085
Paraffin wax … … … … … … … 1,154 269
Other manufactured oils, fats and resins … … … 2,555 712
III.R. … Paper, cardboard, etc. … … … … … … 4,017 789
III.S. … Vehicles … … … … … … … … 2,645 124
III.U. … Books, etc … … … … … … … 442 59
Celluloid … … … … … … … … 1,632 493
IV. … Parcel Post … … … … … … … … 1,227 412
All other goods, other than munitions … … … … 6,374 1,024
318,693 50,419
Payments for film royalties amounted to£16,800,000 in the full year.
These figures do not, of course, represent actual expenditure of dollars, since many of the supplies were obtained under Lend-Lease. The prices assigned to Lend-Lease goods are necessarily arbitrary, and many of these goods were imported for purely military purposes.