HC Deb 08 June 1961 vol 641 cc1367-8
13. Mr. Emrys Hughes

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on his recent visit to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

22. Captain Orr

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement on his visit to the British Trade Fair in Moscow, and on the negotiations he had on trade matters with the Soviet authorities.

Mr. Maudling

The British Trade Fair was an outstanding success, and the organisers and exhibitors deserve our warmest congratulations on their achievements. I understand that a number of important contracts were concluded during the course of the Fair and I hope that much other business will result from it.

I reviewed with Soviet Ministers the development of Anglo-Soviet trade as we are required to do under our Trade Agreement of 1959. Both sides put forward a number of proposals for expanding this trade which are to be the subject of further study. In particular I proposed that we should aim at doubling the existing quotas on both sides when in the autumn we negotiate the detailed trade arrangements for 1962.

Mr. Hughes

I hope I shall not embarrass the Minister when I con gratulate him upon his visit. Will he tell us if he met Mr. Khrushchev and how he got on with him?

Mr. Maudling

I did have the pleasure of meeting Mr. Khrushchev and we seemed to get on quite well, but we were not discussing political subjects.

Captain Orr

As one of the exhibitors, will my right hon Friend accept from me that we very much appreciated the fact that he went there? Could he tell us whether or not in his discussions the Russians put forward the view—which they put to some of us—that there is a tremendous market for British consumer goods if we would take in return some Russian oil? Will he say whether or not he had discussions on oil and whether price was mentioned?

Mr. Maudling

I think a later Question on the Paper covers those points to which, as my hon. Friend knows, publicity has been given.

Mr. Rhodes

Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether he came back with any strong impressions as to Russian productivity in comparison with our own?

Mr. Maudling

I think that it would be very unwise to try to make an estimate of a country of that size. I have not either the experience or the expertise to do so.

Mr. C. Osborne

Will my right hon. Friend remember that on the Saturday morning the Russian Trade Commissioner, in my presence and his presence, said that what they wanted to buy from us was the machinery to produce the consumer goods and not our consumer goods? Since consumer goods contain a greater element of labour, will he see that in the next trade agreement they buy a good proportion of finished consumer goods?

Mr. Maudling

Yes. I have proposed that the quota for consumer goods on both sides should be doubled.