§ 3. Mr. de Freitasasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the complaints by exporters, including aircraft manufacturers, that the export trade is at a disadvantage compared with those of many other countries 1395 whose governments backed their exporters with long-term credits; and whether he will devise a long-term credit system to help British exporters.
§ Mr. ErrollMy right hon. Friend is aware of these complaints, but he does not consider that British exporters are at a general competitive disadvantage and he sees no need to devise a new system. The facilities of the Export Guarantees Act are readily adaptable to changing circumstances and to special needs, including those of the aircraft industry. Special cases are, and will continue to be, considered on their merits, but any general lengthening of the period over which our exports are paid for would severely strain the balance of payments.
§ Mr. de FreitasWould the Minister have this looked at again? Is he not aware of the real difficulty which many of our exporters, particularly of engineering products, have in competing with exporters from foreign countries whose Governments have a very long-term export credit guarantee drive?
§ Mr. ErrollMost exporting countries limit their export credit guarantees to a period of five years, but, of course, there are other methods of helping their exporters, such as special loans. I realise that this means severe competition for certain industries, such as those pointed out by the hon. Gentleman, but our exporters even in those industries are doing very well against severe competition.
§ Mr. KershawIs it not a fact that over the years the Export Credit Guarantee Department has made a substantial profit? In those circumstances, how can any question about the balance of payments possibly be raised at this stage?
§ Mr. ErrollThe Export Credit Guarantee Department is expected to pay its way, but it does not make a substantial profit.