§ Mr. CADOGANasked the President of the Board of Trade by what commercial treaty, or treaties, His Majesty's Government are debarred from taking a general statutory power to impose without discrimination countervailing duties on goods imported from all sources which are the subject of a direct or indirect bounty?
§ Mr. W. GRAHAMAs I informed the hon. Member in answer to a question on 17th December, treaty arrangements with practically all the most important commercial countries make it impossible for countervailing duties to be placed on goods, which are the subject of a direct or indirect bounty, originating in those countries. Duties of this kind imposed as a result of general legislation directed against bounty fed goods from all countries would be debarred by these arrangements equally with duties which were directed specifically against individual countries. In a few treaties only there are specific provisions which might permit of countervailing duties against bounty fed goods originating in the countries concerned, namely, our treaties with Austria, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland, Guatemala, Honduras, Latvia, Panama and Siam.