§ 65. Mr. Edelmanasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the fact that the 1953 Anglo-Argentina Trade Protocol, by reason of its emphasis on the exchange of raw materials and fuel for meat, has failed to take into account the benefits which Britain would receive from selling a higher proportion of manufactured goods; and what action he is taking to revise the Protocol.
§ Mr. MackesonThe main purpose of the negotiations for the new Trade Protocol with Argentina was to obtain satisfactory undertakings about supplies of meat, and in that we were successful. We were also able to secure the promise of the Argentine Government that they would issue import licences for £3 million worth of what are known as less essential exports from the United Kingdom. This quota is obviously not the limit of the exports of manufactured goods which we can hope 139W to sell. Argentina will certainly wish to buy her essential and medium essential requirements from the United Kingdom to the extent that her sterling resources permit and that our goods are competitive. I see no reason, therefore, to seek to revise an agreement which has been so recently concluded.