§ Q6. Mr. Chatawayasked the Prime Minister whether he will propose to the Commonwealth Prime Ministers policies to increase, for each of their countries, the proportion of their total trade carried on within the Commonwealth.
§ The Prime MinisterI shall have proposals on these matters for the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' meeting.
§ Mr. ChatawayDoes the Prime Minister still believe that the proportion of our trade with the Commonwealth could be greatly increased or does not he now think it likely that, over a long period, it will continue to decline, as was persuasively argued in his pamphlet, "Why Britain should enter the Common Market", written a couple of years ago by the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations?
§ The Prime MinisterI am glad the hon. Gentleman is widening his reading. I should be very sorry to feel that he was really as defeatist about increasing Commonwealth Trade as he suggests. For some years now, there has been a decline, and it is regrettable that the decline accelerated in the past four or five years. I am not underestimating the difficulties of reversing the decline. I wish that somebody had started on it 1849 a bit earlier; that is all. We shall certainly do what we can to halt the decline and reverse the trend, and I should not like to begin approaching the problem with the pessimism of the hon. Gentleman.
§ Sir C. OsborneDoes not the Prime Minister agree that this decision is not entirely in our hands, that, as Commonwealth Governments become independent, they decide for themselves on these matters and that, therefore, we cannot increase this trade by our own actions?
§ The Prime MinisterI would remind the hon. Member that he has, in many speeches, emphasised the need for a more vigorous export effort by some of our own companies and salesmen and he will agree that we have not been taking full advantage of these markets that are to be found in the Commonwealth as well as in other areas.
It is true that the growth of indigenous industries in these areas makes it harder for us to sell, particularly where quotas are put an. But I cannot accept the view that, if a Commonwealth country is developing its own industry, we can no longer sell in that market but can sell only in the most highly developed countries, which are those of Western Europe.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeIs this not where the Commonwealth Secretariat might help a great deal by disseminating information about trade in the Commonwealth? What progress is being made towards the creation of the Secretariat?
§ The Prime MinisterI think that an important part of the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat will be that of carrying on work done previously by more informal arrangements between the Commonwealth countries. There has been substantial agreement on the form of the Secretariat and the possibility of an appointment is being considered. I do not know whether we shall be able to make that appointment in advance of the Commonwealth conference. To get broad agreement, soundings are being taken on this point at the moment.
§ Mr. SnowIn my right hon. Friend's analysis of the position, did he examine the situation in which Commonwealth countries such as Australia are still exporting to this country the bulk of their raw materials and processed food 1850 but are reducing their imports from Britain and importing more and more from other countries, using our money?
§ The Prime MinisterWhen my hon. Friend says "our" money I would point out to him that there is complete interchange in the sterling area and that we cannot do all this on a bilateral basis. It is true that some of the more advanced countries of the Commonwealth have been seeking markets elsewhere and alternative sources of supply. I do not want to be controversial about this but I feel that they may feel themselves to have been driven to it by the actions of Governments here in recent years.