23. Mr. H. Wilsonasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will urgently review the operation of the strategic controls on the exports of copper tubes and other copper products, in view of the development of under-employment in important units in the industry.
§ Sir D. EcclesAll the strategic controls are coming under review in the meetings proceeding in Paris and our policy in this review is to confine these controls to goods which are still of strategic significance.
Mr. WilsonWhile trusting that in these talks the right hon. Gentleman will take account both of Britain's economic position and of the changed strategic position which renders many of these controls utterly obsolete, may I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman is aware that the Question was based on the fact that in my constituency the biggest copper factory in the Commonwealth is now working short time and that the reason for this is its inability to meet clear orders that are waiting for it from Eastern Europe?
§ Sir D. EcclesWe are, in fact, licensing copper wire in considerable quantities, but we must wait a little while to see whether other forms of copper manufactures are kept on the list.