15. Air Commodore Harveyasked the President of the Board of Trade, in view of the fact that under present arrangements many orders for textiles required for Coronation year will now be obtained from foreign instead of British textile manufacturers, whether he will revise his decision and increase the quotas for classes of goods urgently required but not produced in this country.
§ Mr. MackesonNo, Sir. I am not prepared to alter the quotas which have recently been announced for imports from 1177 Western Europe and certain other foreign countries. These quotas have been fixed after taking into account both our own requirements for imported goods and the effect of our import restrictions upon our commercial relations with the supplying countries. They represent the maximum relaxation we can afford at present.
Air Commodore HarveyI recognise the improvement in the balance of payments and the fact that it is necessary to extend trade with other friendly countries, but does not my hon. Friend appreciate that in places like Macclesfield there is still considerable unemployment? Is it not quite out of order to accept increased imports when our own people are out of work, and will my hon. and learned Friend review the cases where the silk and rayon industries are worse hit than other textile industries?
§ Mr. MackesonI am quite prepared to consider this matter and to discuss it with my hon. and gallant Friend. The point is that quite a number of European countries have liberalised much of their trade to us and pay great attention to this question of exports.