§ 15. Mr. Julius Silvermanasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now in a position to state how the trade agreement recently signed with the Government of the U.S.S.R. is working; whether both sides are satisfied with the deliveries to date; and on what date the new negotiations for a broadening of that treaty will start.
§ Mr. H. WilsonAs my hon. Friend the Secretary for Overseas Trade informed the House during the Debate on trade policy on Tuesday last, the first consignment of steel rails and accessories has now been loaded for Russia, and, on the Russian side, two grain ships arrived last month. In regard to capital equipment, we are doing all we can to assist the Russians to place their orders. There has been close consultation between all parties concerned, and a number of tenders has been submitted. There is still much detail to be cleared, particularly 503 in regard to specifications, but I am satisfied that good progress is being made. It is provided in the agreement that discussions on a broader basis shall take place not later than May next, but no date has yet been fixed.
§ Mr. SilvermanCan my right hon. Friend say whether both sides are satisfied with the number of orders for British equipment which have already been placed?
§ Mr. WilsonAs I have said, very little has been done in the actual placing of orders, but satisfactory progress has been made in getting the tenders offered, and so on. I must point out that there has been some delay in the matter because we are still awaiting the Soviet side's production of the specifications to which they want our firms to produce.