§ 2.43 p.m.
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEMy 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 they will state what is the principle which determines at what quantitive level non-strategic materials for export to China become strategic and therefore subject to embargo.]
§ THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNEMy Lords, I regret that I cannot state what is the principle which determines at what quantitative level non-strategic materials for export to China become strategic and therefore subject to embargo, since the strategic criteria on which the security export controls are based are confidential. It would not therefore by consistent with either our international obligations or our own security to define the principles which govern the control of items on the quantitative control list. It may, however, be some comfort to the noble Viscount to know that there are only twenty-five items on the quantitative control list, as compared with nearly 270 items dropped from the China embargo list last May.
§ VISCOUNT STANSGATEMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble Marquess for his courteous reply. Of course, the number of items has nothing whatever to do with what I asked. It depends on what the materials are, and the question I should like to put to the noble Marquess, which I think can easily be answered, is: how do you prevent the Chinese, when they get materials that are on the allowed list, from transferring them to military use?
§ THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNEMy Lords, I think the noble Viscount will agree that that does not form part of his original Question. If he wishes to know what the twenty-five items are, they were published in the Board of Trade Journal on June 7.
VISCOUNT ELIBANKMy Lords, may I ask the noble Marquess this question? Although the Government are unable to state what is the principle which determines at what quantitative level non-strategic materials for export to China 400 become strategic, nevertheless it is the secret Committee sitting in Paris, which makes no report to Parliament, which decides that very thing, and British exporters desiring to do trade with China are subjected to the confusion that arises.
§ THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNEMy Lords, I think that the noble Viscount has a similar Question tabled for tomorrow, but I will endeavour to reply to what he has said to-day. There are no fewer than fifteen countries involved; as I have tried to explain in my original Answer, we have our international obligations to these fifteen countries. There is also, as the noble Viscount is fully aware, the Consultative Group. That Group is sitting now in Paris. We have not yet heard the final results of its deliberations, but we understand that the quotas will be fixed very soon now.
VISCOUNT ELIBANKMy Lords, may I ask whether the Government will some day so direct their activities that this secret Committee will report to Parliament?
§ THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNEMy Lords, I think that the short answer to that question is, No.