§ Sir W. Wakefieldasked the President of the Board of Trade why he does not allow duty-free licences for the import of machinery of a consignment value of less than£2,000; if he is aware that these are required by many small firms; and whether, in view of the importance to the national economy that small firms of manufacturers should be competitive in our export trade, he will reconsider his decision.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftThe£2,000 limit was introduced on the recommendation of the Wilson Smith Committee which was set up to examine whether and on what conditions the duty-free licensing of machinery should be resumed. The Committee's Report was published last July. They gave most thorough consideration to the effect on smaller firms of this limit, but concluded that it was both essential and reasonable. As stated in my reply 233W of 29th July to my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Mr. Arbuthnot) the Government accepted all the recommendations in this Report except one which would have required legislation. If the recommendation on the value limit had not been accepted, the whole question of the resumption of duty-free licensing would have had to have been reexamined.