71. Mr. De la Bèreasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies which Colonial Governments, have made agreements with this country whereby British manufactured goods, such as sweets and chocolates, are not to be imported into their territories; and what steps are being taken in those cases to put an end to such agreements, which conflict with the request 147W from the Board of Trade that British industries should export everything possible.
Mr. Creech JonesThere have never been any such agreements. Colonial Governments have been asked to reduce to a minimum certain classes of imports from the United Kingdom, including goods which are made wholly or largely of materials which must be bought for hard currencies or can be sold for hard currencies (such as the sweets and chocolates which the hon. Member mentions). I am sending the hon. Member, for his information, a copy of a notice which appeared on the subject in the Board of Trade Journal of 3rd January, 1948.