HC Deb 21 February 1957 vol 565 cc713-4
Mr. Walker-Smith

I beg to move, in page 4, line 11, at the end to insert: (5) The foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect in relation to a duty imposed by an order under this Act (being an order made to afford protection against the giving of a subsidy) as if references to the fair market price in a country were references to the export price from that country increased by such amount (if any) as may be necessary to offset the effect of the giving of the subsidy. The purpose of the Amendment is to extend the relief provisions of Clause 3 to countervailing duties. The Bill as drafted restricts this relief to antidumping duties, but in Committee my hon. Friend the Member for Clitheroe (Mr. Fort) asked whether it would be possible to extend it also to countervailing duties. As a result we have given consideration to the suggestion and have produced the Amendment.

The effect of the Amendment is that if the export price plus the amount of the countervailing duty is greater than the export price plus the amount of unfair reduction of price due to a subsidy, the Board of Trade may authorise the Customs to repay the difference. We have gone thus far to meet my hon. Friend. The onus will still be on the importer to show that the goods that he has imported have not been affected by subsidy which is the subject of a countervailing duty order or alternatively not to the extent of the countervailing duty. As I indicated in Committee, this may be a very difficult thing to do, particularly where there is an indirect but general subsidy on the class or classes of goods involved.

The merit of the Amendment is that the existence of the provision will ensure that if there are any cases where an importer has imported goods which have avoided the general subsidy, he will be able to claim relief from the countervailing duty. Therefore, I think we have gone as far as we can to meet the important point put by my hon. Friend, and I thank him for the characteristically helpful and constructive suggestion which he made.

Amendment agreed to.