§ 69. Colonel Crosthwaite-Eyreasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will amend the Export of Goods (Control) (Amendment No. 3) Order, 1948, so as to preclude the export of all machine tools that can be used for armament purposes.
§ Mr. H. WilsonMachine tools designed for use for armament purposes are already included in the order. I do not propose to amend the order to include machine tools generally.
§ Colonel Crosthwaite-EyreWhen the President of the Board of Trade says that machine tools for armament purposes generally are included within the order, can he say in what part of that order any tools except those required for small arms manufacture appear?
§ Mr. WilsonI am sure that the hon. and gallant Gentleman will realise the difficulty here. In fact, practically every machine tool can be used in one way or another for armament manufacture. I 872 am satisfied that to put them all under control would involve a very serious interference with our export drive. If the hon. and gallant Gentleman has any particular kind of machine tool in mind which he thinks should be brought under control, I hope he will let us know about it.