§ 50. Mr. Rankinasked the President of the Board of Trade what value of the goods to be exchanged in the trade arrangements recently made between the Federation of British Industries and its counterpart in East Germany will be on open general licence.
§ Sir D. EcclesIt is estimated that about £2 million of East German sales here may be covered by our open general licence. I understand that there is no open general licence for imports into East Germany.
§ Mr. RankinIn view of the possible effect of the impact of the Common Market on our economy, would it not be best to try to put all this trade on specific licence to make sure that we reap the greatest benefit for workers in this country?
§ Sir D. EcclesI am glad that an unofficial trade agreement with East Germany has been signed. We must watch to see how it goes. I hope the result will be an expansion in trade.