HC Deb 26 June 1958 vol 590 cc582-3
12. Mr. Jay

asked the President of the Board of Trade, in view of the new Canadian announcement on the matter, whether he will invite the Canadian Government to reconsider their decision to impose a higher tariff on imports of wool cloth from the United Kingdom into Canada.

Sir D. Eccles

The Canadian Government were fully aware of our views before they decided to accept the recommendation of the Tariff Board, and now that this decision has been announced we could not usefully suggest that it should be reconsidered.

Mr. Jay

Could not the President of the Board of Trade make further representations, since woollen goods are a very important British export, and since the present Canadian Prime Minister is always protesting his wish for more Anglo-Canadian trade?

Sir D. Eccles

The present and the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and myself have spoken to Canadian Ministers about this problem on four or five occasions, and the Canadian Government are fully aware of our views. But in the course of the announcement of their Budget proposals they took this decision, and once that decision had been made in the Canadian Parliament there was not much more that I could do.