§ 84. Mr. Piratinasked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent his refusal to undertake fixed commitments for the delivery to the U.S.S.R. of timber and oil equipment was a contributing factor to the breakdown of the trade negotiations with the U.S.S.R.
§ Mr. H. WilsonAs my right hon. and learned Friend stated in the House on 28th July, the cause of the breakdown of the negotiations was the refusal of the Soviet Government to enter into a trade agreement except on the basis of a very drastic alteration in the terms of repayment of the credit advanced under the Civil Supplies Agreement of 1941, and their refusal to accept the very generous concessions we offered in this connection. As regards timber equipment, we offered a definite commitment to supply during 1947 light rails out of surplus military stocks, and at an early stage in the negotiations Mr. Mikoyan agreed, in view of our steel position, to leave the supply of steel rails in subsequent years to be settled at a meeting to be held in January, 1948, at which time the quantities of timber to be supplied from the U.S.S.R. in those years were also to be agreed. He later agreed that oil drilling tubes, a demand which he only made on us at a relatively late stage in the negotiations, should also be left for settlement at the 1948 meeting.
So far as other items of timber equipment, such as narrow gauge locomotives, trucks, timber carriers, winches, cranes, etc., are concerned, it was made clear from an early stage in the discussions that this was a matter for the Soviet importing organisations to settle on a contract basis with supplying firms in the United Kingdom. We, for our part, in addition to indicating the supply prospects for these items, undertook to do everything possible within the limits of our powers to ensure that the contracts were signed, fulfilled and executed in good time. We were not however prepared to grant the orders over-riding priority either over essential home requirements such as 139W mining machinery and electrical generating equipment or over export orders placed earlier for hard currency markets or for destinations where they would, as in the case of the Soviet orders, assist the countries concerned to make available food and essential raw materials to this country. On the last day of our negotiations, Mr. Mikoyan agreed to the draft schedule to the Agreement giving the delivery prospects for such equipment, and agreed further that the dates of delivery were to be settled between the Soviet importing organisations and the firms concerned. Moreover, at our final meeting he said that we had now reached agreement on all trade questions, apart from the financial matters. It is, therefore, not correct to report the breaking off of negotiations as due to the "factors referred to by the hon. Member.