§ 33. Mr. Barnettasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he proposes to take to counter the effect on the balance of payments of the continuing high level of imports.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsDevaluation will help to make import substitution practical and profitable, but it is bound to take time for the benefits of devaluation to be realised.
§ Mr. BarnettWith imports for April only £7 million down, at £645 million, and consumer demand still at a very high level, does my hon. Friend not feel that some further action is needed if we 1029 are to get the £500 million surplus next year that he is talking about? Would he consider looking again at the question of further restriction on capital outflow?
§ Mr. JenkinsThat is a somewhat different question from the one that my hon. Friend has on the Paper. It is the case that reduction in imports is taking some time to work through, but I reiterate the point I made in reply to an earlier Question, that it is vitally important that we do not encourage the development of protectionism throughout the world.