§ 58. Mr. Iremongerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultations he has held with the Federation of British Industries, the Association of British Chambers of Commerce and the National Union of Manufacturers about increasing British exports; and if he will make a statement on Government taxation policy as a means of influencing the balance between home consumption and exports.
Mr. AmoryTreasury and Board of Trade Ministers and senior officials are in constant touch with these organisations, and export promotion was discussed at last Friday's meeting of the National Production Advisory Council on Industry on which they are represented. On the second part of the Question, it has always been the policy of Her Majesty's Government to use the Budget, and other means as appropriate, to achieve a proper balance between demand at home and exports.
§ 59. Mr. Nabarroasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer his estimate of the effect, to date, upon British exports of his credit-squeeze measures.
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Mr. AmoryThere is no means of measuring separately the effects of one particular factor out of the complex factors which determine the volume and pattern of our export trade, but I should hardly have expected the measures taken at the end of April, still less those taken in June, to have had time to effect significantly the volume of goods exported since then.