§ 56. Mr. Prescottasked the President of the Board of Trade what proposals exist to grant most-favoured-nation facilities to Japan; to what extent discussions have taken place with U.S. and Dominion representatives concerning this matter; with what Dominions; when and where such discussions took place; and what is the attitude of His Majesty's Government to such proposals.
§ Mr. H. WilsonA discussion of the points which would be involved in according most-favoured-nation treatment to Japanese goods took place between officials of the United States and the Commonwealth Governments in London last week. The United States Government wished to ascertain what the attitude of Commonwealth Governments to such a proposal might be and it was agreed, as a matter of convenience, to hold preliminary discussions on the question while some of the officials attending the recent Commonwealth meeting were still in London. In addition to the United Kingdom, representatives of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Ceylon and Southern Rhodesia were present. The discussions were exploratory and non-committal. His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom have not yet considered the report of these conversations and have not formulated any attitude towards the granting of most-favoured-nation treatment to Japan.