§ 108. Sir H. Williamsasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that none of the new industrial products of Malta developed in recent years are entitled to Imperial Preference because of the restrictive clauses of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; and what steps he proposes to take to encourage the industrial exports of Malta.
§ Mr. MackesonThe United Kingdom tariff provides for Imperial Preference in the case of practically all manufactured products, and these arrangements apply to imports of new industrial products from Malta. I would also refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies to my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Mr. N. Macpherson) on 3rd December.
The answer to the second part of the Question is that the encouragement of the industrial exports of Malta is a matter for the Maltese Government, but so far as the United Kingdom is concerned, our preferential tariff, as I have indicated, should help the development of exports from Malta to this country.