HL Deb 29 January 1957 vol 201 cc165-6

2.42 p.m.

VISCOUNT ELIBANK

My Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, as a preliminary step to initiating action for the rescinding of the 1951 U.N.O. resolution which recommended the China embargo as an additional measure to deny contributions to the military strength of the forces opposing the United Nations in Korea, they will (1) remove from the China embargo list all goods not embargoed for the U.S.S.R.; and (2) will abolish the practice of demanding the "end-use" of goods required for China which makes business between the British exporter and the prospective Chinese buyer of an unpredictable character and loses trade to British industry.]

THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (THE EARL OF GOSFORD)

My Lords, the China trade controls are applied not only by the United Kingdom but also by all the other members of the Consultative Group. Any action to relax those controls must therefore be taken in consultation with our friends and allies, not all of whom share our views. Meantime, as the noble Viscount is aware, the exceptions procedure gives us some latitude. As regards the last part of the Question, I cannot do better than to refer the noble Viscount to the answer given him on August 1, 1956, by my noble friend, Lord Mancroft, to which there is nothing I can usefully add.

VISCOUNT ELIBANK

I thank the noble Earl for his Answer. May I ask him this? Will he explain what justification there is for the maintenance of a far more sweeping and stringent application of the controls for the China embargo, as opposed to the Russian embargo?

THF EARL OF GOSFORD

My Lords, I can only answer the noble Viscount by reiterating what I have said in my initial statement—that any decision we come to must be with the agreement of the other members of the Consultative Group. Whether or not we agree with what the noble Viscount has already said, we must get the agreement of the other members. Therefore, I cannot go any further.

VISCOUNT ELIBANK

As the noble Earl knows, time and again in the last few years I have asked Her Majesty's Government whether they would lake the initiative in this respect. Will they do so?

LORD LUCAS OF CHILWORTH

My Lords, might I ask the noble Earl whether he will take into consideration the fact that, when we loyally abide by these undertakings, other countries in the world profit by our rectitude and—may I use the expression?—steal our legitimate markets?

LORD AILWYN

My Lords, whilst I strongly support the substance of the noble Viscount's Question, and greatly admire the persistence with which he pursues this important matter, may I ask whether it is not a fact that the value of the United Kingdom exports to China in 1956 was in the nature of £3 million more than it was in 1955?

THE EARL OF GOSFORD

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Ailwyn, for his intervention. What he said is, in fact, almost true: the exact figure is £2.9 million. In answer to the noble Viscount's last question, Her Majesty's Government have taken, and do take, the initiative in this matter; but, as I have already said, and as has been stated many times in the past, we must have the complete agreement of alt the other members of the Consultative Group before anything further can be done.