§ Sir R. Russellasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give an assurance that he will not agree to any proposals put forward at the forthcoming meeting of the United Nations Commission on Trade and Development in New Delhi which would weaken the existing system of Commonwealth preferences.
§ Mr. CroslandI would refer the hon. Member to my reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Worthing (Mr. Higgins) on 22nd November. The grant of special tariff treatment by other industrialised countries to imports of manufactures and semi-manufactures from developing countries would give developing countries in the Commonwealth new trading advantages to compensate them for the extent to which they would be called upon to share their present advantages in the British market.—[Vol. 754, c. 1301–2.]