§ 99. Mr. Byersasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement on the note from the U.S. Government requesting the abolition of preferences on import duties by the countries of the British Empire.
§ Mr. BelcherIn accordance with the procedure agreed at the meeting of the Preparatory Committee in London last autumn, the various countries concerned are addressing requests for tariff adjustments to each other as a preliminary to the tariff negotiations which are to be held concurrently with, and as part of the work of, the second session of the Preparatory Committee later this year. It would be improper to make public the contents of such requests. As regards the general question of Imperial Preference, however, I would invite the hon. Member's attention to the statement about the Anglo-American Financial Agreement made by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons on 6th December, 1945.