§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has taken steps with other countries' Finance Ministers to block loans to Argentina.
§ Mr. Bruce-Gardyne:Not since the financial sanctions introduced on 3 April were lifted.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has taken steps to ask Argentina to remove the "interventores" or State-appointed managers who were put in to oversee British firms in Argentina during the Falklands war.
§ Mr. Bruce-Gardyne:An understanding was reached with the Argentine authorities on the simultaneous lifting of financial sanctions. This included the removal of the official observers or supervisors, but this aspect appears not to have been fully implemented yet. We are in contact with the Argentine authorities to secure that it should be.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Her Majesty's Government have made representations to the Paris club of commercial bankers in connection with the granting of loans to Argentina.
§ Mr. Bruce-Gardyne:In the Paris club applications from particular countries to reschedule their officially-guaranteed debts are considered by representatives of creditor Governments. I am not aware of any Argentine representations to the Paris club and we have made none. Now that the financial sanctions have been lifted, the commercial banks' lending policies in relation to Argentina are the responsibility of the banks themselves.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect the non-payment of debts to British banks by Argentine banks as a result of the Falklands dispute has had on British commercial banking.
§ Mr. Bruce-Gardyne:I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.