§ Mr. Hoggasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that America has already booked £60,000 worth of advertisements in Russian trade journals; and why of £35,000 worth of applications by British firms £31,000 has 2136W been forbidden by the British Government.
§ Mr. PeakeI have seen reports which have appeared in the American Press regarding expenditure of $250,000 in this connection. The requests by individual United Kingdom firms in connection with advertising in trade papers in the Soviet Union have been kept under constant review, and, as was stated by my right hon. Friend the Secretary to the Department of Overseas Trade on 26th October, a certain number of applications were in fact allowed while the general position was under examination by the Treasury in connection with that Department. Both Departments are, of course, anxious to take the most effective steps to stimulate United Kingdom trade with the Soviet Union, and have been, and will be, prepared to consider sympathetically any proposals which take into account the special conditions under which such trade is carried on. But in view of the system under which Soviet orders are placed, it is obvious that appeals to individual consumers by means of advertisement can have but limited, if any, effect on the orders placed, and in the light of this factor, expenditure of foreign currency for this purpose must be restricted.