HC Deb 22 February 1962 vol 654 cc608-10
18. Mr. Leather

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what representations he has made to President Kennedy about the effect of his proposal, that the United States of America should purchase all its sugar on the free world market, on Commonwealth sugar producing countries, especially the West Indies.

24. Dr. A. Thompson

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what representations he has made to the United States of America over their proposed new sugar purchasing policy, particularly as it affects the West Indies.

Mr. Maudling

We are in consultation with the American authorities, to whom we have explained the great importance of these markets to the West Indies.

Mr. Leather

Will my right hon. Friend give the House some assurance that he will leave President Kennedy in no doubt that if this policy were carried out, it would bankrupt the sugar industry in the whole of the West Indian islands, and particularly in Jamaica, where wage standards are highest; and that this is bound to bring about unemployment on a massive scale and cause economic unrest which would be far from offset by the advantages which the State Department considers its policy might bring?

Mr. Maudling

I would not go the whole way with my hon. Friend about the consequences of the policy. Certainly, it raises a very serious problem for the West Indies, as we have explained quite clearly to the United States authorities, and we are in consultation with them about the problem.

Dr. Thompson

Is the Minister aware that since my Question was put down, it has been revealed that the American Government have stopped all purchases of sugar from Jamaica for the next six months and are preparing long-term barter deals of wheat for sugar, particularly from South American countries? In view of the catastrophe which Jamaica faces, and the fact that she buys £30 million worth of British manufactured goods in a year, is he aware that the economic future of Jamaica cannot be a matter of indifference to Her Majesty's Government?

Mr. Maudling

Of course, it is not a matter of indifference. As I said in my original reply, we have explained to the Americans the great importance of this problem to the West Indies, and we are consulting them about it. I do not see what else we can do about it at the moment.

Mr. Leather

My right hon. Friend has said that he cannot go the whole way with me in the views expressed in my supplementary question, which are certainly shared by everybody in the West Indies. Will he say why?

Mr. Maudling

Because I do not think they are fully shared by everybody in the sugar industry. I think the effect of the policy would be serious to Jamaica, but my hon. Friend thought it would bankrupt the industry, and I thought that in that he was going a little too far.

Mr. G. M. Thomson

Will the right hon. Gentleman ensure that the representations made to America are made at the highest level? Is he aware that if the Americans persist in this policy, it will more than cancel out all the economic aid which Her Majesty's Government are giving at present to the West Indies?

Mr. Maudling

Certainly. We are ensuring that. From the start we asked our Ambassador in Washington to represent the position to the State Department, but we cannot do more at this moment than consult with the State Department and explain to them the effect of their policy. I agree—as I was myself in the West Indies recently—that these effects can be very serious for the West Indies, unless a proper solution can be found, and our concern at the moment with the Americans is to find a solution.

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