Question
Asked by
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they owe to the government of the United States for debts incurred in and around the First World War; and what are the arrangements for repayment. [HL1064]
At the end of the First World War the United Kingdom debt owed to the United States amounted to around £850 million. Repayments of the debt were made between 1923 and 1931. In 1931 President Hoover of the United States proposed a one-year moratorium on all war debts, which allowed extensive international discussions on the general problems of debt repayment to be held. However no satisfactory agreement was reached. In the absence of such an agreement no payments have been made to, or received from, other nationals since 1934.
I also refer the noble Lord to the Answers provided on 17 July 2002 (col. WA 159), 23 October 2002 (col. WA 103-04) and 11 July 2003 (col. WA 66).