§ 70. Sir P. Macdonaldasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will now give a list of the products of our African Colonies which are liable to be affected by changes in the United Kingdom tariff resulting from the Geneva agreement.
§ Mr. Rees-WilliamsI do not expect that any African Colonial product will be materially affected.
§ 71. Sir P. Macdonaldasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the estimated net gain or loss to the Colonial Empire in trade as a result of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade reached at Geneva; and what is the estimated net gain or loss in respect of each Colony.
§ Mr. Rees-WilliamsAlthough Colonial exports may be adversely affected by reductions in preferential margins previously accorded by Commonwealth Governments, the loss in actual trade resulting from those changes is expected to be208W of consideration by his Treatment of Offenders Sub-Committee and of a despatch to Colonial Governors.
Following are the figures:
small, while Colonies will benefit on the other hand by a large number of concessions granted by nearly every country represented at Geneva. The very wide range of Colonial products affected, together with uncertainties about the actual conditions of trade in individual countries makes it impossible to work out estimates of gain or loss for each individual Colony, but I am confident that, on balance, the Colonies stand to gain more than they lose.