Temporary Import Charge

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 29 November 1965.

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Photo of Mr Joel Barnett Mr Joel Barnett , Heywood and Royton 12:00, 29 November 1965

I am sorry, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I am trying very hard to deal specifically with the import surcharge and its relation to the balance of payments problem. The import surcharge is very closely related to balance of payments and it is difficult not to refer to balance of payments when talking about the import surcharge but I shall do my very best. I was saying that what is needed is a flexible approach. It is wrong to use the old saying—"Never a borrower or a lender be". A Chancellor of the Exchequer should not subscribe to this maxim. In our present balance of payments position the national cannot afford such inflexibility. A flexible approach here combined with a carefully handled selective quota system could give us the steady and sustained rate of growth we all want.

It may be necessary to continue the surcharge at the moment because we do not have an alternative readily to hand and because we cannot allow a situation to exist in which we have no control over our imports. However, I hope, for the reasons I have outlined and the argument I have attempted to deploy, that before the next 12 months are over we shall be able to replace it by a system very much more flexible and selective in its use by way of quotas.