§ 87. Mr. Bottomleyasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the Anglo-Czechoslovak trade talks.
§ Mr. LowA Trade Arrangement was signed on 22nd October and formal arrangements for trade with Czechoslovakia now exist for the first time for over two years. The Arrangement provides generally for trade until the end of 1959 but detailed quotas have been negotiated, in the first instance, only until the end of 1957. During this period Czechoslovak quotas for our exports amount to some £5½ million and we have undertaken132W to license up to £8 million of Czechoslovak goods apart from certain other Czechoslovak products which may already be imported under open licence. It is recognised in the Arrangement that trade need not be restricted, in either direction, to the goods and quotas provided for, and the Arrangement will not only provide new opportunities for increased United Kingdom exports but, in conjunction with two Exchanges of Notes on Financial Matters which will be published as a White Paper, will result in the resumption by Czechoslovakia of payment of compensation for the nationalisation of British property.