§ 15. Mr. P. Robertsasked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the discrimination which permits the entry into Spain of special steels from several 164W countries whilst blocking those manufactured in Great Britain; and, as Spain's best customer, will he start negotiations to amend the existing trade arrangement so that part of the adverse trade balance amounting to £16,500,000 is utilised for ending this discrimination.
§ Mr. H. Wilson:Licences have in fact been granted for the import of some special steels from the United Kingdom, but I agree that the position has not been satisfactory. The matter was brought to the particular attention of the Spanish authorities in talks which took place in Madrid last week. In the light of these discussions, I fully expect that imports into Spain of United Kingdom manufactured goods, including special steels, will be higher in the coming months.