HC Deb 18 December 1956 vol 562 cc1083-5
26. Mr. Fell

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the negotiations of the British Government for a dollar loan.

Mr. H. Macmillan

No, Sir. Talks with the Export-Import Bank have only just begun, and there is nothing further I could usefully say at present.

Mr. Fell

May I at least ask my right hon. Friend for an assurance that, before any decision is come to about such a loan—which some hon. Members on this side of the House would not welcome—he will put it before the House?

Mr. Macmillan

No, Sir, I am afraid that I could not give that assurance. I can assure my hon. Friend, however, that in these negotiations we have in mind many of the problems which arise, and I hope that it will be possible to get what we want in the way in which we want it.

Mr. Jay

Is the Chancellor sure it is wise to contract all these new dollar loans without having made any reductions in less essential dollar imports?

Mr. Macmillan

No, Sir. These are lines of credit. Taken as a whole, they fortify the position, but the extent to which we have to draw upon them must depend upon circumstances, and the extent to which we must draw upon this or that will depend, again, upon the judgment of the authorities at the time.

Mr. Fell

Is my right hon. Friend aware that at such a time a loan from the United States in order to enable British people to continue seeing American films and continue smoking American tobacco would not be welcome to many people in this country?

Mr. Macmillan

I should like my hon. Friend to distinguish between this and what he will persist in calling a loan. A "loan" means a fixed sum of money at a fixed rate of interest for a period of time. This is a line of credit which we hope to obtain and use if we have to.

Viscount Hinchingbrooke

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that this line of credit involves some moral obligation on the part of the debtor country to observe the policies of the creditor country, and that some of us are getting just about sick of following continuously under the chaperonage of America?

29. Mr. Vaughan-Morgan

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give an assurance that, in the event of assistance being sought from the Export-Import Bank, either directly or through the United States Government, no agreement will be given to any condition which might be detrimental to the interests of Commonwealth primary producers in the United Kingdom market.

Mr. H. Macmillan

In accordance with the requirements of the Export-Import Bank Act, any assistance obtained from the Export-Import Bank would have to be spent on the purchase of United States goods and services, but it would not be the policy of Her Majesty's Government in consequence of any such borrowing to interfere in any way with the rights of importers to purchase Commonwealth primary or other products so that no question of detriment to these interests can arise.

Mr. Vaughan-Morgan

That is all very well, but is my right hon. Friend aware that we have had some experience of this in the past? Will he bear in mind that the operation of Mutual Security Aid has been in many cases most detrimental to the interests of Commonwealth producers?

Mr. Macmillan

This is another problem. What we hope to do here is to obtain the possibility of drawing temporarily for commodities which we cannot get from any other source.

Mr. Jay

Whether he calls it a loan or credit, will the right hon. Gentleman agree that what he is doing is borrowing money?

Mr. S. Silverman

If there is an obligation on us to spend any money we borrow in the American market, will the right hon. Gentleman take some precautions to ensure that there will be some guarantee that the market prices will not be raised against us during the lifetime of the loan?

Mr. Macmillan

What would be financed from this line of credit would be particular deals at particular times if we found it necessary to draw on it.