asked the President of the Board of Trade why a licence has not been granted to the Centrepex International Trading Company, Limited, for the importation of M.G. Sulphite paper from Norway and Sweden.

Supplies of tissue for. toilet paper production which are already available from home mills or established importers, are adequate to cover our present requirements.

Is the President of the Board of Trade aware that the Centrepex Company imported the finished article from America before the war; and will he now, in order to save dollars, allow them to import the raw materials from the soft currency countries of Norway and Sweden and manufacture the finished article in this country?

Yes, Sir. As the hon. Gentleman knows, we are not now importing the finished article from the United States or from anywhere else. The imports we already get of tissue for this purpose are sufficient to cover our requirements.

But do they come from a soft currency or a hard currency area?