§ 8. Mr. Walkerasked the President of the Board of Trade how many days elapsed before he replied to the communication received by him from the National Farmers' Union on 30th March asking him to ascertain the internal price of eggs in Poland.
§ Mr. MaudlingFourteen days.
§ Mr. WalkerIs my right hon. Friend aware that from the time the National Farmers' Union first contacted his Department there was a total of twenty-eight days' delay before a decision was given and that twenty-four of those days of delay took place in his Department? In view of this, could he review the procedures which take place on antidumping legislation?
§ Mr. MaudlingI think that in this case we acted very quickly. Having just come back from Poland and Russia, I can say that the difficulties of establishing a fair market price for these commodies are very considerable.
§ Mr. BuckIs my right hon. Friend aware that I received a letter on 17th May about this matter from the National Farmers' Union which said that
…it would be less than fair to suggest, as far as our own experience is concerned that the Board of Trade have acted otherwise than helpfully and promptly"?Would he agree, however, that what is needed here is revision of the procedure under the Act, the preliminary procedure having no statutory authority, I understand, at present?
§ Mr. MaudlingI should be very glad to consider any suggestions on this matter but we must be careful not to act too precipitately, because it might damage our exports if we were to do so.