§ 3. Mr. Iremongerasked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a concise summary of the discussions which have been held during the last ten years with Commonwealth countries, individually and collectively, on the subject of the expansion of Commonwealth trade through arrangements comparable to those currently under consideration by the United Kingdom and the European Economic Community.
§ Mr. BraineI am sending my hon. Friend the relevant extract from a joint statement issued by the British and Canadian Governments on 4th October, 1957, regarding a proposal made by the British Government for a free trade area with Canada. Our trading relations with Commonwealth countries are the subject of frequent discussion with their Governments. I would refer my hon. Friend specifically to the Report of the Commonwealth Trade and Economic Conference at Montreal in 1958 (Cmnd. 539) and to the Trade Agreements made with the Governments of Australia and New Zealand in 1957 and 1959 (Cmnd. 91 and Cmnd. 830).
§ Mr. IremongerIs my hon. Friend aware that, although I am grateful for that reply, it was not what I was asking for? Why is it so difficult to produce this concise summary and publish it? Will he now assure the House that every possible opportunity has been taken to provide a Commonwealth alternative to the European idea, bearing in mind that the trading interests of the Commonwealth countries often conflict, whereas those of European countries are more easily reconciled?
§ Mr. BraineI am sure my hon. Friend recognises that because of the volume and varied character of these discussions, both Ministerial and official, they do not lend themselves to easy summary in brief form. This is an indication of the very close and detailed nature of our consultations on trade matters with the Commonwealth.
As regards the second part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question, I do not think that we are comparing like with like. All other Commonwealth countries are anxious to build up their 1488 secondary industries, which they protect with tariffs. This is an essential phase in their development, which I should have thought we would welcome, and it is obviously difficult for them to expose these industries to free competition from Britain.
§ Mr. WalkerFurther to that reply, does my hon. Friend agree that the great recovery in Commonwealth trade in the 1930s took place, not as a result of the imposition of a free trade area, but as a result of an exchange of mutually agreed preferences? It is upon this system that we should be working it. Does my hon. Friend also agree that, in spite of a lack of initiative towards Commonwealth trade in the last ten years, our exports to the Commonwealth have risen by £440 million, whereas our exports to the Common Market have risen by only £280 million?
§ Mr. BraineI should be the last person in the world not to attach importance to the trade ties between Commonwealth countries. In reply to the first part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question, however, the world economic conditions in which the Ottawa Agreements were negotiated in the 1930s were completely different from those obtaining today.
§ Mr. HealeyIs the Joint Under-Secretary aware that there is grave danger that the talks between Britain and the Common Market countries will in any case break down or become bogged down this year? In view of this, there is a very strong argument in favour of having consultations with the Commonwealth to see whether we can exploit by common arrangements the fact that our economies are complementary.
§ Mr. BraineThe second part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question flows from the supposition that certain things may happen. If they happen, I think that what he says may follow, but we must see.