§ 23. Sir Waldron Smithersasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will give an estimate of the extent of illegal exchanges of goods and currency between the Western and Russian zones in Germany; and the resultant loss to the British Exchequer.
Mr. McNeilI regret that I am unable to give the estimate asked for, but I have no doubt that illegal transactions are considerable. I have no reason to suppose that they result in loss to the British Exchequer.
§ Sir W. SmithersIs it not obvious that the encouragement of these black market operations by the Russians is part of their plan to sabotage the recovery of Western Europe? What active steps can the British Government take to stop them?
Mr. McNeilI cannot follow that that is obvious at all. The operations are taking place in circumstances in which 909 the Eastern mark is at a discount of four to one to the Western mark. The advantage must lie with the Western people.