§ 2.40 p.m.
§ LORD COLERAINEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the change, if any, since November, 1965, in the price of those grades of chrome ore which were previously imported into this country from Rhodesia.]
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF TECHNOLOGY (LORD DELACOURT-SMITH)My Lords, there are no official figures for the prices of Rhodesian chrome ore, nor for comparable grades from other sources. Price series published in the British and United States trade Press suggest that broadly comparable grades of ore have risen in price between 25 and 50 per cent., depending on source and quality. We do not now import these grades. The Overseas Trade Accounts of the United Kingdom show that the average value of the chrome ore we did import in the six months ended September, 1969, was £12 2s. per ton, compared with £11 1s. per ton in the six months ended November, 1965. In terms of dollars, the average value fell, since sterling was devalued in the intervening period.
§ LORD COLERAINEMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether the rise in price of between 25 and 50 per cent. in roughly comparable grades of ore is to be taken as evidence of the success of the sanctions policy or of its failure?
§ LORD DELACOURT-SMITHMy Lords, I cannot express a view upon the influence of the sanctions policy on this rise, but I should like to make the point that Rhodesia was only a minor supplier; and in the two years prior to the imposition of sanctions—that is to say, in 1964 and 1965—our imports from that source amounted to 31,000 tons, out of a total import of 423,000 tons. As the United Kingdom imports have fallen to 256,000 tons over the past two years, the loss of Rhodesian ore has had no effect on our overall supply position.
§ LORD COLERAINEBut, my Lords, is it not the case that Rhodesian ore was 840 of the very highest grade, and therefore the most valuable to industry?
§ LORD DELACOURT-SMITHMy Lords, Rhodesian ore was metallurgical ore and used mainly in the production of ferro-chrome. There is now no production of ferro-chrome in the United Kingdom. Production ceased about three years ago because it had become uneconomic, and I understand that consideration of the cessation of production had been taking place before that time. No chrome ore has been imported since 1967 from any other major source, so the ending of the Rhodesian supplies of metallurgical grade chrome ore, although it followed the application of sanctions, was not a consequence of them, and imports of this grade of ore from other sources have been equally affected.
§ LORD COLERAINEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their attention has been drawn to a report in The Times newspaper of November 6, 1969, to the effect that the Union Carbide Company has asked the United States Government for permission to import chromium ore from Rhodesia because Russian production, even though it has been increased, is unable to fill the gap created by sanctions; and whether Her Majesty's Government will reconsider a policy which is evidently most damaging to the interests of the free world.]
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, since Union Carbide is an American firm this is a matter for the United States Government and not one on which I can properly comment. There is no question of Her Majesty's Government reconsidering their sanctions policy.
§ LORD COLERAINEMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord how long he expects other countries like the United States to "carry the can" for Her Majesty's Government's mistaken policy in Rhodesia?
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, the countries of the United Nations are committed to the resolution of the United Nations. If the noble Lord has any doubts about the attitude of the United States Government, I would refer him to what Mr. Newsom, Assistant Secretary in 841 the State Department, said when the Union Carbide Company lodged a petition with the State Department to be permitted to bring chrome into the United States.
§ LORD GRIMSTON OF WESTBURYMy Lords, is not the reality of the situation this: that there is a considerable shortage of chrome and nickel in the world, both of which are available in Rhodesia; and is it not likely, whatever the attitude of Her Majesty's Government, that the world will obtain these commodities from Rhodesia if they cannot get them from anywhere else?
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, I understand that there was some shortage of chrome in the United States, mainly due to a strike in Canada. The noble Lord speaks of the reality of the situation, but surely the reality is that Rhodesia is in rebellion, not only against the Crown of this country but also against what the people of the world generally accept as right. Until Rhodesia brings itself back into a legal position with the Crown, sanctions should continue.
§ LORD GRIMSTON OF WESTBURYMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that many of us do not agree with his view?—though of course we cannot debate the matter now.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, the noble Lord has made that perfectly clear on many occasions.