§ Mr. Ecclesasked the President of the Board of Trade on what principles export licences are granted for certain countries and refused in the case of other countries; and, in particular, for what reason export licences are being refused for Switzerland.
§ Sir S. CrippsAs I informed the hon. and gallant Member for Altrincham (Colonel Erroll) on 5th November, it is in general the practice, where goods can be made available for export, to leave exporters to distribute them over the markets most likely to prove of long-term value. Where, however, only a limited quantity of a particular class of goods is available, it is sometimes necessary to give preference to the essential requirements of Empire and allied countries dependent on us.