Mr. R. Duckworthasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can now state what action it is proposed to take with regard to the increased Egyptian 701W tariffs on British cotton goods; and what has been the balance of trade between Great Britain and Egypt for each of the past three years?
§ Captain Wallace:This question has been discussed with a deputation from the Manchester Chamber of Commerce and instructions have been sent to His Majesty's Ambassador in Cairo to make strong representations to the Egyptian Government.
The following figures show the value of imports into the United Kingdom from Egypt and of exports and re-exports from the United Kingdom to Egypt in each of the years 1935, 1936 and 1937:
— 1935. 1936. 1937. £ £ £ Imports 12,725,698 13,542,592 14,360,049 Exports 7,631,373 7,756,411 7,882,654 Re-exports 204,466 182,997 146,778 In connection with the substantial visible balance in favour of Egypt, it may be pointed out that by far the greater part of the imports into the United Kingdom from Egypt consists of raw cotton, which amounted in value to approximately £9,871,000 in 1937.