§ Captain W. BENNasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the British Dyestuffs Corporation refuse to supply British export firms with synthetic indigo, on the ground that they have their own selling arrangements in the Far East, and that this decision tends to divert trade from this country to Germany, Switzerland, and the United States; and what steps does the Government propose to take in the matter?
§ Sir P. LLOYD-GREAMEI am informed that, under the arrangements made by the British Dyestuffs Corporation with their agents in China, the Corporation is precluded from making sales of its products to merchants in this country when it is known that the goods are destined for export to, and sale in, China. It is, however, open to merchants supplying the Chinese market to obtain their supplies in China through the agents of the British Dyestuffs Corporation in that country. I am informed that in all such cases the agents of the Corporation supply without requiring any information as to the ultimate purchasers. The Government is not responsible for the management of the British Dyestuffs Corporation, and the Board of Trade has no power to dictate to firms the terms of their agency agreements.