§ 67. Mr. Boothbyasked the President of the Board of Trade whether His Majesty's Government will now request the Government of the U.S.A. to agree to such modification of Article 9 of the Loan Agreement as will enable us to expand production in the British Commonwealth and Empire and to negotiate reciprocal trade agreements, in terms of goods, with our own Dominions, and with countries within the sterling area.
§ Mr. BelcherAs my right hon. Friends the Lord President and Chancellor of the Exchequer made clear in Debate on 8th July, His Majesty's Government will take all appropriate measures within their power in connection with the general dollar balance of payments crisis with which the world is threatened. The first essential is to expand production of food and other necessities throughout the world, and, in consultation with other Commonwealth Governments, we will continue to give the closest attention to the development of production in the British Commonwealth. As regards the particular points raised by the hon. Member, it is undesirable to deal piecemeal with individual features of the general dollar problem.
25WI am doubtful, however, whether it would be to our advantage to look to bilateral agreements in terms of goods, i.e., barter agreements, as a means to this end; in the long run our best interests will be served if we can re-establish multilateral trade. This, of course, is the object of the discussions now proceeding in Geneva at the Preparatory Committee on International Trade and Employment, and our attitude on it must be influenced by the success or otherwise of these discussions.