§ 84. Sir A. Gridleyasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the debts outstanding in respect of locomotives, rolling stock and other railway engineering materials delivered to the Argentine now amount to nearly £2 million and have been outstanding for a considerable period, some for nearly 12 months; and what action has been taken by His Majesty's Government to bring pressure to bear upon the Argentine Government to implement their undertaking given at the time of the Anglo-Argentine Trade Agreement last June to clear off outstanding payments without exchange loss and with what results.
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§ Mr. BottomleyYes. This matter has constantly formed the subject of representations to the Argentine Government and is one of the many issues arising out of the Trade Agreement of last June which is now under discussion in Buenos Aires. Some payments were transferred in the July-August period, and I understand that the Argentine authorities now propose to transfer a more substantial sum forthwith against these arrears.
§ 85. Sir A. Gridleyasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that certain firms, in compliance with the express wishes of His Majesty's Government, went out of their way to obtain orders from the Argentine, thereby losing other orders to foreign competitors; and whether His Majesty's Government will accordingly relieve firms of their financial burden pending settlement by the Argentine Government.
§ Mr. BottomleyHis Majesty's Government have been most gratified at the response shown by United Kingdom exporters in the attention which they have devoted to the Argentine market, and they will do all they can to secure the satisfactory operation of the Anglo-Argentine Trade Agreement of June last. His Majesty's Government have no powers to assume financial responsibility of the kind suggested by the hon. Member. I assume however that the exporters concerned were aware of the insurance factilities afforded by the Export Credits Guarantee Department.