asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the estimated proportion of the current imbalance of trade between the United Kingdom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics represented by the earnings of Soviet-controlled banking, insurance and shipping organisations in London; and what steps he is taking to achieve reciprocity by requesting the Soviet authorities to permit corresponding British organisations to operate within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

With the exception of the relatively small freight and insurance elements in the figure for imports, the Soviet Union's invisible earnings are not included in the statistics of visible trade between the United Kingdom and the U.S.S.R. and cannot, therefore, be regarded as forming part of the visible trade unbalance. I shall continue to impress upon the Soviet authorities the advantages to both countries of their agreeing to allow British concerns involved in Anglo-Soviet trade and services to establish themselves in the Soviet Union.

Will the right hon. Gentleman confirm, however, that there is an imbalance in invisible earnings and that this is aggravated by the fact that the Soviet Union's inflexible policy is to buy f.o.b. and to sell c.i.f., and, for example, does he look forward to the day when, perhaps, Barclay's D.C.O. or the Chartered Bank will be able to offer loans to the Soviet local authorities as is done by the Moscow Narodny Bank in this country?

I quite agree that there is what I prefer to describe as an unbalance, but I can assure the hon. and gallant Gentleman that I did impress these points not merely on the Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade in Moscow in early November but also on Mr. Kosygin, the Prime Minister.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the facts are that the Soviet Union buys from us about half as much as it sells to us? Is he further aware that my right hon. Friend obtained a specific undertaking in writing from Mr. Patolichev that everything possible would be done to right this imbalance? While paying tribute to the right hon. Gentleman for the action that he has taken, may I ask him to press on with it in order to rectify what is a serious imbalance of trade? Has the right hon. Gentleman observed the comments in the newspapers that the Japanese are getting better trade advantages than we are, and will he take up this and similar points with the Soviet authorities?

I am, of course, aware of the undertakings given by the Soviet authorities to Her Majesty's previous Government, and I did not omit to point this out to the Soviet Government in Moscow. They gave me assurances that they would honour these agreements, and I am confident that they will be carried out.