§ 37. Major Beamishasked the President of the Board of Trade to what extent Her Majesty's Government have made use of the British Council for the Promotion of International Trade in negotiating contracts for timber, feedingstuffs, food and other materials for goods imported from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and countries under its influence.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftNot at all. Her Majesty's Government have on many occasions given evidence of their interest that there should be an increase of trade with the Soviet countries and with China in non-strategic goods. The British Council for the Promotion of International Trade, however, which was established after the Moscow Conference of last April, is clearly pursuing in the economic sphere the political objectives which prompted the calling of that Conference. It is important, therefore, that the political background to this Council should be borne in mind.