HC Deb 27 February 1957 vol 565 c192W
Lieut.-Colonel Bromley-Davenport

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in the proposed free trade area, major nationalised undertakings, such as electricity, gas, and railways, will be permitted complete freedom to purchase their supplies from any country within the proposed free trade area.

Sir D. Eccles

As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State explained in reply to Questions on 19th February, detailed negotiations have not yet begun and I cannot at this stage forecast how the provisions of a Convention to establish the Free Trade Area may affect the existing practices in this regard of the countries that become parties to it.