§ 26. Mr. Wingfield Digbyasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it a condition of any future trade treaty that a reasonable proportion of goods imported into the United Kingdom shall be carried in British ships.
§ Mr. GreenNo, Sir. Our policy is to encourage free competition in international shipping, not to restrict it.
§ Mr. DigbyIs it not a fact that nations with which we have an unfavourable trade balance are sending more and more of their trade with us in ships other than British? Is it not a fact that we are sending only 50 per cent. by weight of our trade in British ships? Is it not time that the Board of Trade kept a closer watch on the position?
§ Mr. GreenI assure my hon. Friend that we keep a close watch on the position. If he is raising questions of flag discrimination, for example, or what might be done against it, he should address himself to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport.
§ Sir J. DuncanWhile agreeing with the British policy, may I ask my hon. Friend to ensure that in the next Kennedy round at G.A.T.T. Britain takes the lead in stopping other countries using flag discrimination and such practices?
§ Mr. GreenI readily assure my hon. Friend that the Board of Trade and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport consistently make representations to that effect.
§ Mr. P. WilliamsIs my hon. Friend aware that since the Ministry of Transport became responsible for shipping and shipbuilding there is the feeling among some of us that the Board of Trade is not quite as active on behalf of shipping interests as it was in the past? Can he give an undertaking that if that was true it is not true now?
§ Mr. GreenI am happy to assure my hon. Friend that the Board of Trade remains extremely interested in shipping.