§ 11. Mr. Chapmanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the approximate number of dollars being spent annually on importing American films, gramophone records, magazines and similar products mainly for entertainment; and what is the total value of our dollar imports.
Mr. AmoryImports of films and gramophone records from the United States of America in 1957 amounted to rather more than £9 million. Imports of newspapers and periodicals were £840,000; there are no separate figures for magazines. Total imports from the dollar area in 1957 were £965 million.
§ Mr. ChapmanYes, but since a great deal of this entertainment material is coming in, some of it of a lurid and mediocre type, and as we still need to economise in dollar purchases, could not some of these be the first to fall by the wayside under import controls?
Mr. AmoryI hope there will not be any falling by the wayside, but we must keep a perspective, and the figure mentioned here of £9 million is not really a considerable figure in relation to the total of £965 million.