HC Deb 03 March 1924 vol 170 cc992-7W
Sir G. DOYLE

asked the President of the Board of Trade the percentage preference allowed by each of the Dominions and Colonies on imports from Great Britain; what was the total amount of exports of manufactured and semi-manufactured articles from this country to the Dominions and Colonies, and to the different countries in Europe, respectively, during the last three years for which the returns are ascertainable; and the amount per head of the population in each instance?

1920 Mr. WEBB

Precise particulars of the percentage differences between the aggregate duties on imports from this country under the preferential tariffs of the Dominions and Colonies, and the duties chargeable on similar goods from foreign countries, are not available for 1922. It would, however, appear that the preferential rebate amounted, approximately, to 55 per cent. of the latter rates of duty in the case of New Zealand, for such goods as were accorded preference, to 45 per cent. in the case of Australia, to 30 per cent. in the case of Canada, and to 25 per cent. in the case of South Africa. The corresponding percentage was about 50 in the cases of Northern and Southern Rhodesia, Trinidad and Tobago, and British Guiana, about 45 in the cases of Fiji and Barbados, about 33 in the cases of Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Antigua, Dominica. Montserrat, the Virgin Islands and British Honduras, 30 in the cases of Grenada and St. Kitts-Nevis, and 25 in that of Cyprus.

The following statement shows the value of the exports of articles of United Kingdom manufacture, classed as wholly or mainly manufactured, registered in each of the years 1920, 1921 and 1922 as consigned to each of the countries specified.

(A) BRITISH DOMINIONS, COLONIES, PROTECTORATES, ETC.
[NOTE.—Colonies, etc., with an estimated population of less than 100,000 have been omitted.]
Country to which Consigned. 1920. 1921. 1922.
Value of Exports. Value per head of Population. Value of Exports. Value per head of Population. Value of Exports. Value per head of Population.
£ £ s. d. £ £ s. d. £ £ s. d.
Dominion of Canada 36,531,543 4 4 8 15,257,860 1 14 9 20,458,134 2 5 8
Commonwealth of Australia. 59,272,411 11 1 2 43,078,924 7 18 6 57,028,540 10 4 9
Dominion of New Zealand. 23,106,320 18 12 0 12,866,741 10 2 4 13,727,614 10 10 4
Union of South Africa 45,874,014 6 14 2 27,776,398 4 0 2 22,215,398 3 3 0
Newfoundland and Coast of Labrador. 880,053 3 6 9 240,613 18 4 328,542 1 5 1
British India 173,564,760 10 11 104,102,940 6 6 86,204,191 5 5
Malta and Gozo 806,666 3 11 9 607,083 2 17 2 647,202 3 1 2
Cyprus 467,063 1 9 8 350,933 1 2 7 291,962 18 5
Palestine (d) (d) 513,709 13 7 777,043 1 0 6
West Africa:
Gambia 863,298 3 11 11 276,958 1 6 4 244,163 1 3 2
Sierra Leone 1,243,494 16 2 618,843 8 1 684,733 8 11
Gold Coast (a) 6,223,439 4 2 10 3,109,695 1 7 5 2,980,745 1 6 4
Nigeria (b) 10,477,483 11 9 6,646,651 7 1 5,449,072 5 10
South West Africa Protectorate. (d) (d) 38,414 3 4 12,269 1 1
Rhodesia 1,278,303 15 1 1,012,496. 10 10 747,124 8 0
Bechuanaland Protectorate. 15,967 2 0 7,047 11 3,266 5
Basutoland 65,238 2 7 39,618 1 7 14,812 7
Swaziland 1,187 3 4,447 9 2,168 5
East Africa:
Tanganyika Territory (d) (d) 225,269 1 1 321,830 1 7
Zanzibar and Pemba 289,959 1 9 6 243,843 1 4 5 257,082 1 5 8
Kenya 2,273,315 19 2 1,270,303 10 8 1,275,765 10 9
Uganda Protectorate 168,368 1 1 155,226 1 0 60,487 5
Nyasaland Protectorate 210,802 3 6 234,757 3 11 248,008 4 2
Soimililand Protectorate 5,937 5 14,027 10 3,990 3
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 1,088,187 4 6 1,207,242 5 0 664,272 2 9
Mauritius and Dependencies. 2,480,564 6 12 9 2,102,002 5 9 2 795,303 2 1 2
Iraq (Mesopotamia) (d) (d) 4,356,048 1 10 7 3,485,796 1 4 6
Straits Settlements and Dependencies (including Labuan) (c). 15,111,727 17 9 6 7,334,555 8 6 0 5,365,091 5 17 11
Federated Malay States 2,670,311 1 19 6 2,162,000 1 12 8 718,973 10 7
Ceylon and Dependencies 5,632,266 1 5 0 3,297,623 14 8 2,811,674 12 5
British North Borneo 107,727 9 1 76,981 6 0 46,007 3 7
Sarawak 60,842 2 0 79,870 2 8 61,939 2 1
Wei-hai-wei 2,584 4 5,608 9 3,300 5
Hong-Kong (c) 12,465,786 19 4 8 6,332,582 10 2 7 5,684,919 8 11 8
Territory of Papua 38,201 2 9 44,892 3 3 9,128 8
Fiji Islands 204,218 1 5 2 224,370 1 8 6 183,352 1 2 8
British West India Islands. 5,164,697 2 18 0 3,216,573 1 17 2 2,615,889 1 9 9
British Guiana 1,462,250 4 15 2 977,223 3 5 8 700,576 2 7 1
(a) Including British Togoland in 1921 and 1922. (b) Including British Cameroons in 1921 and 1922. (c) Largely entrepot trade. (d) Not separately recorded.

N.B.—In comparing the figures for the different years, the relatively high level of prices incompared with that of the following years must not be overlooked.

B.—COUNTRIES OF EUROPE.
Country to which consigned. 1920. 1921. 1922.
Value of Exports. Value per head of Population. Value of Exports. Value per head of Population. Value of Exports. Value per head of Population.
£ £ s. d. £ £ s. d. £ £ s. d.
Russia 10,191,671 1 3 894,063 2 1,939,012 4
(a)
Finland (b) — 1,234,729 7 4 2,031,839 11 11
Esthonia (b) — 3,413,802 3 1 6 481,054 16 8
Latvia (b) — 357,325 4 0 574,504 6 2
Lithuania (b) — 34,886 3 8,992 1
Sweden 30,798,661 5 4 10 6,438,366 1 1 9 8,110,380 1 7 2
Norway 27,757,571 10 10 8 12,679,650 4 15 0 7,910,829 3 6 0
Iceland (c) 825,964 7 11 7 200,581 2 2 3 216,216 2 5 0
Denmark (incl. Faroe Islands). 23,767,663 7 13 4 5,900,123 1 15 9 7,981,514 2 7 10
Poland (incl. Danzig) (d) — 1,982,898 1 5 1,551,928 1 1
Germany 14,289,638 4 3 10,049,375 3 3 16,911,265 5 6
Netherlands 39,376,958 5 15 10 20,357,480 2 19 1 25,151,596 3 11 8
Belgium 35,456,654 4 15 0 13,282,392 1 15 3 15,896,818 2 1 10
Luxemburg (e) — 3,302 3 7,629 7
France 84,883,414 2 3 4 28,774,432 14 8 27,855,796 14 2
Switzerland 10,647,089 2 14 11 4,447,923 1 2 11 9,217,164 2 7 2
Portugal 8,851,463 1 11 8 2,499,528 8 10 3,097,050 10 10
Azores 25,791 2 3 15,653 1 4 16,017 1 5
Spain 15,925,903 15 6 10,445,193 10 0 8,752,129 8 4
Italy 23,528,832 12 3 7,824,385 4 0 9,264,610 4 9
Fiume (f) — 9,015 2 9 8,783 2 8
Liechtenstein (f) — — — 13 (i)
Austria 3,110,031 1 10 1,328,147 4 1 913,234 2 10
Hungary 277,455 8 166,587 5
Czechoslovakia (f) — 348,271 6 465,910 8
Serb-Croat-Slovene State. (f) — 1,015,512 1 8 596,097 1 0
Greece 11,625,676 2 12 1 5,002,328 19 2 3,118,543 11 11
Crete 56,500 3 3 17,989 1 0 19,430 1 1
Montenegro 916 1 — — 1,021 1
Albania (g) — 3,119 1 12,661 3
Bulgaria 969,091 4 0 1,024,470 4 2 830,185 3 4
Serbia 602,434 2 11 (h) — (h) —
Rumania 6,927,888 18 6 5,655,008 6 7 2,556,214 3 0
Turkey, European 11,923,463 6 6 1 4,134,558 2 3 7 2,844,738 1 9 11
NOTE.—Owing to territorial changes in respect of certain of the above-named countries, the particulars for 1920 are not strictly comparable with those for subsequent years. The countries chiefly affected are European Turkey and parts of the former Turkish Empire now under other administrations.
(a) Including Finland, Esthonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russian Poland in this year (b) Included with Russia in this year. (c) Including Greenland in this year. (d) Included with Russia, Germany and Austria in this year. (e) Included with Germany in this year. (f) Included with Austria-Hungary in this year. (g) Included with European Turkey in this year. (h) Included with Serb-Croat-Slovene State from 1921. (i) Less than 0.5d.

Mr. WELLS

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what preference has been given to this country by the West Indies?

Mr. THOMAS

Except in the case of certain specified articles such as tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, wines, spirits and flour, where the rate of preference is generally lower, Barbados, British Guiana and Trinidad give a preference to this country in their general tariff of 50 per cent., British Honduras, the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands give a preference of 33⅓ per cent.; Jamaica gives a preference of 25 per cent., but on cotton piece goods has increased the preference to 50 per cent.; and the Bahama Islands give a drawback of 25 per cent.

Mr. WELLS

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies which Dominions or Colonies have actually given, or intimated their intention to give, new or increased preferences to British trade since 1918?

Mr. THOMAS

As regards the self-governing Dominions, Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, and New Zealand have given new, or increased, preferences to British trade since 1918. The Irish Free State, on becoming responsibe for its customs administration on 1st April, 1923, continued the preferences accorded under the tariff previously in force. In the case of the Union of South Africa, the general rate of preference has not altered since 1918. Since 1918 the Colonies of Mauritius, Fiji and Cyprus have decided to give certain preference to Empire goods, and the Colonies of Jamaica, British Honduras, the Bahamas, the Leeward Islands, the Windward Islands, Trinidad, Barbados and British Guiana have largely increased the preference they already gave.