§ 26. Sir D. Walker-Smithasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consideration he has given to the permissibility within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of export allowances or restitutions as a setoff against the effect of minimum import prices; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PriorExport allowances would probably not give rise to serious difficulties under the G.A.T.T. Other factors in our international trading relations also need to be taken into account in judging whether to provide for export allowances. And we must assess whether, and the extent to which, our exports are in fact at risk because of the effects of minimum import prices. I am keeping the whole situation under review.
§ Sir D. Walker-SmithI am obliged to my right hon. Friend for that reply. In view of the notorious complexity of matters arising under G.A.T.T., would he consider publishing a White Paper setting out all these considerations in more detail, including reference to the position in the malting industry and its anxieties, about which I have recently been in correspondence with him on behalf of my constituents?
§ Mr. PriorMalt is one of the commodities which is very much under review at present. I will consider my right hon. and learned Friend's suggestion about setting out the problem in a White Paper, but for my part I find some difficulty in agreeing that we should publish a White Paper.