§ 12. Mr. Fisherasked the President of the Board of Trade what decision he has reached upon the new Cuban cigar import quota; and what effect he estimates this will have on the imports of Jamaican cigars into this country.
§ 13. Mr. Russellasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will now make a statement about the future quota for Cuban cigars, in view of the anxiety felt by those employed in the Jamaican cigar industry.
§ Mr. ErrollThe 1962 import quota for Cuban cigars remains at the 1961 level. The position of Jamaican cigars in the British market, to which they have free access, is thus unchanged.
§ Mr. FisherIs my right hon. Friend aware that that reply is better than it might have been but not as good as it should have been? Will he bear in mind the high level of unemployment in Jamaica, and that it might have been 186 both wise and right to help unemployment there and our own Commonwealth producers as opposed to those of a Communist country by reducing the Cuban quota?
§ Mr. ErrollNo, Sir. While Jamaican cigars have unrestricted access, I do not think that it would be right to reduce the Cuban quota, because the Cubans are already in serious arrears with their debt and other payments to us and they must be provided with some opportunity of earning the currency to meet their obligations.
§ Mr. RussellWill my right hon. Friend also consider any other ways in which he can stimulate the consumption of Jamaican cigars in this country?
§ Mr. ErrollI do not think that the consumption of cigars is a matter for me.