§ 1. Sir Patrick Hannonasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he contemplates the resumption of negotiations between His Majesty's Government and the Government of New Zealand on the disparity of reciprocal imports as indicated in the schedule of imports allocations of the New Zealand Government for 1949, and the departure from the principle of the New Zealand Government in the undertaking given in 1939.
§ The President of the Board of Trade (Mr. Harold Wilson)It is true that United Kingdom imports from New Zealand greatly exceed in value our exports to that country, but I do not contemplate any negotiations on that account. New Zealand has a continuing problem with her balance of payments. The New Zealand Government consider that New Zealand is spending all she can afford on imports, and of the total imports an increasing share has come from the United Kingdom.
At the request of His Majesty's Government in New Zealand, His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom have had under review the undertakings and assurances given in July, 1939, by Mr. Nash on behalf of His Majesty's Government in New Zealand in circumstances very different from those operating today and have agreed that they should be allowed to lapse. They are fortified in this decision by the fact that His Majesty's Government in New Zealand announced last November a scheme to licence token imports from the United Kingdom of a wide range of goods for 528 which pre-war exports to New Zealand were important to our manufacturers, but for which no allocation is at present provided in New Zealand's principal licensing schedule. The New Zealand Minister of Finance and Customs, Mr. Walter Nash, has since said that the licensing of such token imports is part of New Zealand's settled policy based on the special trading relationship between our two countries and designed to ensure that long established business connections are maintained.
§ Sir P. HannonWhile I thank the President of the Board of Trade for that reply, would he tell the House whether the negotiations between New Zealand and ourselves have been conducted in a spirit of goodwill and understanding on both sides, and that His Majesty's Government recognise the patriotic attitude which New Zealand always shows to the interests of this country in negotiations?
§ Mr. WilsonYes, that is most sincerely recognised, and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that all the discussions and interchanges on this difficult subject have been carried through in an atmosphere of complete goodwill and understanding on both sides.
§ Mr. Platts-MillsWould my right hon. Friend give the assurance that if New Zealand comes to the British money market again, as it did just before July, 1939, it will not be faced with the threat of discrimination for which the party opposite were responsible on the last occasion it came?