asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the annual level of steel production permitted to Germany under existing occupation decree; and by how much German steel production was in excess of such a figure in the year ending 31st December, 1951.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him yesterday by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State.

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied, in view of the special rearmament effort we are making, that we are getting a fair share of the excess production?

Well, we did not do very well last year for a variety of reasons. [HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."] I am not blaming anybody but merely stating the fact; there was a variety of reasons, into which we need not enter. We have had some discussions recently with the German Government and we hope as a result of them to have a substantial tonnage of steel from Germany this year.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, whilst he is exercising his efforts to increase the tonnage, at the same moment his right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is withholding licences for imports?

I did not think so. The position is, of course, that Germany has a fixed amount for herself, and over and above that we get a certain percentage. I did not know that there was any kind of withholding. If that is so, I will gladly look into it.