§ 17. Mr. Rankinasked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to revise the strategic list of prohibited exports.
§ Mr. ErrollI would refer the hon Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Ashfield (Mr Warbey) on 21st November.
§ Mr. RankinIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that I have looked at that Answer and at others? Could he tell me why the Government are pursuing policies at home, like the wage pause, in order to try to rectify the imbalance between our exports and imports, and at the same time pursuing policies abroad which will restrict our chance of exporting, in spite of the fact that those policies have notably failed in respect of Chincom and Cocom and will continue to fail in so far as the Common Market is the method of carrying on these policies? Could not the right hon. Gentleman think in more liberal terms? Does he not realise that so long as multilateral trading exists, this type of restriction in trade is bound to fail, as I have seen with my own eyes?
§ Mr. ErrollI hope the hon. Gentleman realises that the embargo is restricted to goods of strategic importance. The trade in those goods is necessarily limited.
§ Mr. RankinWhile the right hon. Gentleman is exporting Viscount aircraft to China, which I welcome and which every sensible person welcomes, will he say whether he will refuse to export the necessary aviation spirit required to fly the Viscounts, in view of the fact that aviation spirit is on the embargo list?
§ Mr. ErrollI think that we shall have to look at that matter when we know whether the Chinese wish to purchase a brand of spirit which is embargoed. We need to know a great deal more about exactly what spirit they have in mind and what is required for operating these Viscounts.