§ Sir G. COLLINSasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department whether he can state, in any form and for any convenient period, the quantity and/or value of British imports and exports from the occupied territory or from the Rhine, or whether he has any information showing the volume of this trade for any period since, and any comparable period prior to, the French occupation?
§ Lieut.-Colonel BUCKLEYI am unable to give, for any period, particulars of trade between this country and the occupied territory of Germany or the Rhine district as the Customs declarations from which the statistics of imports and exports are compiled, while distinguishing the countries from and to which the various goods are consigned, do not distinguish portions of countries, and consequently it is only possible to furnish particulars of trade with Germany as a whole.
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§ Mr. TILLETTasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that 12 cases of yarn are being held up in Giesenkirchen mainly as a result of the French demand for an export tax of 10 per cent. although the order was placed on 17th November, 1922, by a Manchester firm; and what steps he can take to secure the release of this raw material in order to prevent English looms being stopped?
§ Lieut.-Colonel BUCKLEYI have been asked to reply. I cannot trace, from the particulars given in the question, that the Board of Trade have already heard of this case. If, however, the firm have ant already communicated full particulars of the case either to the Board of Trade or to the British High Commissioner at Coblenz, they should do so immediately, in order that the necessary steps may be taken by the High Commissioner to obtain the benefit of the special facilities offered by the Franco-Belgian authorities for the export from occupied territory of goods ordered before 1st February, 1923. Full information on this subject will be found in a notice issued by the Board, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy. Under the conditions stated in that notice, the necessary Allied export licence will be issued on payment of export duty at the rate in force at the date of the order. If the difficulty arises from the attitude of the German supplier, I can only refer the hon. Member to the statement which the President of the Board of Trade made in this House on the 12th April.
§ Mr. CASSELSasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department whether the British High Commissioner, of the inter-Allied Commission at Coblenz, is in a position to obtain from the French authorities permission for goods due for delivery under British contracts placed before the French occupation of the Ruhr to leave Germany: and, if so, whether he will request the High Commissioner to deal with applications which are now being made to him by British firms?
§ Lieut.-Colonel BUCKLEYThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I would refer the hon. Member to paragraph 14 (a) of a notice issued by the Board of Trade, of which I am sending him a copy, but advantage 2308W cannot be taken of these facilities in cases in which the German exporting firm observes the Regulations of the German Government, which have not been so modified as to enable use to be made of them. The British High Commissioner is already dealing with applications sent to him by British traders, either direct or through the Board of Trade.
§ Mr. A. T. DAVIESasked the President of the Board of Trade what were the quantities of coal, coke, iron-ore, and pig-iron exported from this country to on-occupied Germany between 28th January and 31st March, 1923: and what were the quantities exported to Germany in the same period in 1922?
§ Lieut.-Colonel BUCKLEYThe following statement shows the quantities of the specified commodities registered during the two months February and March in each of the years 1922 and 1923, as exported from the United Kingdom and consigned to Germany. Exports to unoccupied Germany are not separately classified:
Two Months—Feb.-March. 1922. 1923. Tons. Tons. Coal 827,607 2,836,496 Coke 1,304 82,740 Iron Ore nil nil Pig Iron 6,045 27,510