Board of Trade: Import Licensing Branch: Files

This series contains files of the Import Licensing Department and the Import Licensing Branch of the Industries and Manufactures Department of the Board of Trade.

Import licensing was introduced during the First World War in order to conserve foreign exchange and scarce shipping space and was reintroduced, on a much larger scale, for the same reasons during the Second World War. Licensing continued after 1945 in order to help cope with various economic and financial crises and was gradually discontinued after 1956.

Many of the files were re-registered.

For files of the Commercial Relations and Treaties Department, Export Licensing Branch, see BT 246

Records relating to duty and import controls: PJ 2

• Board of Trade, Industries and Manufactures Department, Import Licensing Branch, 1946-1960
• Board of Trade, Industries and Manufactures Department, Import Licensing Department, 1940-1945

Topics

Manufacturing

Trade and commerce

Conflict

Operations, battles and campaigns

Import licensing was introduced during the war of 1914-1918, in order to conserve foreign exchange and shipping. It was resurrected on a much larger scale, for the same reasons, in the course of the war of 1939-1945. At first its use was restricted to the husbanding of foreign exchange under the Import, Export and Customs Powers (Defence) Act 1939, but by the end of 1939 this had proved to be insufficient. Although the Ministry of Food and the Ministry of Supply were by then purchasing in bulk more than two-thirds by value of all imports, a wider control was felt to be necessary in order to make the best use of shipping space. A general control of imports was imposed in June 1940, immediately after Dunkirk. Except for a few categories of goods, this prohibited the import of goods by private importers except under licence from the Board of Trade. The Import Licensing Department was created within the Industries and Manufacturers Department of the Board of Trade to administer these controls.

In 1945 the exchange problem again came to the fore and the severity with which import licensing was administered after that date fluctuated with Britain's economic fortunes. After 1956 controls were gradually abolished.

In January 1946 the Import Licensing Department became the Import Licensing Branch (of the Industries and Manufacturers Department), but it continued to be known to the public by its former title until 1950.

On 1 January 1960 Import Licensing Branch was transferred to Tariff Division, which was renamed Tariff and Import Policy Division. By December 1963 the division had reverted to it's old name Tariff Division. When the Tariff Division was abolished in March 1975, Import Licensing Branch became part of the new General Division.