Britain’s Export Guarantee System

Northern Advocate, 17 December 1938, Page 9

Britain’s Export Guarantee System

LONDON, December 15. Moving in the House of Commons today the second reading of the Goverment bill to extend considerably the export guarantee system to assist British trade with other countries, the Parliamentary Secretary for Overseas Trade, Mr R. S. Hudson, said considerable pessimism had been expressed about the state of Britain’s export trade, and many people would have the public believe the foundations of the trade were being cut away. He thought the figures just published, which showed for three months in succession there had been an increase in trade, were an intimation that British exporters were successfully pursuing their trade. Export Machinery. The operations of the Export Credit Department had now become an integral part of Britain’s export ’ Machinery, and the present bill Was designed to extend that service. “A number of cases have arisen,” continued Mr Hudson, “in which the members of the Advisory Council felt that if they carried out their duties strictly and * judged each particular case purely on commercial grounds, they were bound to recommend that particular transactions, which, although we fully agree with the committee that they could not be accepted on strictly commercial grounds were nevertheless transactions which we thought, taking the long yiew, were in the pational interest. — Only One Method. -. “I suggest that the method 1 , employed in the bill is only one of the methods which will have to be adopted by Britain to meet the existing situations,” remarked Mr Hudson. /' . ■ “NeW difficulties and new problems are continually cropping up. Our competitors are continually extending and developing their , methods, and it seems to me we shall have to" adopt as occasion arises new devices meet these difficulties. „

‘ They may well be devices of methods which we shall not take in ordinary circumstances. They may be novel, and certainly will be without precedent in our history,, but in so far as Ertish exporters require them for Muir protection and for developing the trade which is vital for the existence of Britain, I am certain that not merely the Government, but the House . e will not hesitate to give them any power they require. . i ,