HC Deb 01 November 1956 vol 558 cc1596-8
24. Mr. Allaun

asked the President of the Board of Trade the volume of cotton imports into the United Kingdom from India and Hong Kong for each of the years 1950 to 1955 and for the first six months of 1956; and if he will take steps to prevent the closing of further Lancashire mills by setting up an import board to restrict cotton imports to their present level.

Mr. P. Thorneycroft

I assume that the hon. Member's Question refers to imports of cotton cloth. With permission, I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the figures asked for in the first part of the Question. The Answer to the second part is "No, Sir."

Mr. Allaun

Is the President of the Board of Trade aware that the cotton unions and the T.U.C. on the one hand, and the cotton employers and the F.B.I. on the other, are all now seeking some form of cotton import control, and will he tell the House the outcome of his meeting with a T.U.C. deputation on Tuesday?

Mr. Thorneycroft

I am aware of the views of all these organisations and have had an opportunity of discussing this matter with them. We have exchanged views, and I have called their attention to the fact that talks are planned between the industry in this country and the industry in India. I think that it is common ground that those talks should proceed.

Mr. Fletcher-Cooke

Will my right hon. Friend, if he is going to expose the cotton trade to a good deal of competition from Europe in future, for which there is a good deal to be said, please realise that he cannot expect the cotton industry also to continue to face Oriental competition, for which there is very little to be said?

Mr. Thorneycroft

These are among the factors which have been called from time to time to my attention.

Mr. S. Silverman

Are not these matters, which the President says form part of what the Government are considering, matters which the Government have been considering at least since 1951, and can he tell us when the Government will be ready to make some announcement about some kind of policy for the cotton industry and for Lancashire; or have the Government now reached a situation when they do not care for the opinions of anybody, either in this country or any other country?

Mr. Thorneycroft

I think that on behalf of Her Majesty's Government I have made very clear statements on this subject from time to time, although they may not all have been acceptable to the hon. Gentleman. At this stage, I think that it is probably common ground that the talks which have been arranged between the cotton industry in the United Kingdom and the cotton industry in India should be allowed to go forward without too much comment.

Mr. H. Wilson

Since the right hon. Gentleman first received strong representations from the Cotton Board in July, 1954, and in this House on 9th March last year he said that he was waiting to meet the Cotton Board to hear their views, and as he has had repeated representations from them since, is he now trying to tell us that he has still no policy for this industry and is still hanging on and waiting for the result of other conversations?

Mr. Thorneycroft

I have made it quite plain that we have not altered our policy and do not intend to introduce restrictions and quotas on the imports of cotton

IMPORTS OF COTTON CLOTH INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM
Million square yards
— 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 Jan.-June
From INDIA:
Woven cotton fabrics of standard type … … 76.1 108.4 10.6 16.64 132.7 136.5 75.5
of which:— grey, unbleached … … 71.0 105.6 10.1 15.9 127.8 130.6 72.8
From HONG KONG:
Woven cotton fabrics of standard type … … 4.8 17.0 2.3 2.0 19.9 51.4 27.3
of which:— grey, unbleached … … 3.2 12.4 1.6 0.7 18.1 48.8 26.2

goods, as the right hon. Gentleman has proposed. It would do great damage at this stage to do anything of the kind in our trade with India. I think that the proper course is for the talks to take place between the industries in the two countries.

Mr. Wilson

Since this is apparently the first intimation that the right hon. Gentleman has turned down the latest representations of the Cotton Board, will he at least refrain from misrepresenting our attitude on this question, since on 9th March last year we said that we would only support the imposition of quotas by the Government with the utmost reluctance? Does he not realise that this question does not call for quotas but for the policy which we outlined on 9th March, 1955?

Mr. Thorneycroft

I am very glad to hear the right hon. Gentleman say that he would not impose restrictions on imports from India.

Mr. Wilson

On a point of order. Mr. Speaker. I think that it is very important that the right hon. Gentleman should not be allowed to misrepresent anything said by any hon. Member. Since the statement I referred to did involve the imposition of restrictions, it is quite wrong for the President to say that we would now not impose any restrictions.

Following are the figures: