TRADE IMPASSE

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 1, 1 July 1935, Page 9

TRADE IMPASSE

AUSTRALIA AND U.S.A.

LITTLE HOPE FOR MR. LYONS

TALES AT WASHINGTON

United Tress Association—By Electric Tclograph—Copyright. (Received July 1, 1.15 p.m.) WASHINGTON, June 30. Conferences are scheduled for the Australian Prime Minister (Mr. J. A. Lyons) with the President (Mi-. Fl D. Roosevelt), and the Secretary of State (Mr. Cordell Hull), and the Assistant Secretary of State (Mr. F. B: Say-re) during his 24-hour stay in Washington next week. A careful canvass of the situation shows that American authorities are not very hopeful of concrete results of the Prime Minister's visit. It is fairly well understood that Mi-. Lyons will serve a very polite and friendly, but none the less firm, warning that unless something' can be done to increase the American consumption of Australian products, thereby redressing the trade balance a little more equitably so far as the Commonwealth is concerned, something will have to be done by Australia to curtail purchases here and to increase purchaser in European and Asiatic countries by means of special bilateral trade agreements. The position regarding the possibility of an Australian-American reciprocal trade treaty is considered to be especially difficult. The United States would demand an "unconditional most-favoured-nation's" treatment, which is considered impossible within the framework of toe Ottawa Agreements. It is pointed out that the Unite"d States in 1932 was ready to negotiate a general commercial treaty with Australia which, besides providing a trade understanding, would.have eased the difficulties of Australian business men, who at the present time must .operate under six months' visitors' visas while in the United States. It is contended that the Commonwealth Government "shied off" from the negotiations, and the matter fell through. ADDITIONAL MARKETS. With regard to the provision of some additional markets for Australian primary goods State Department officials are ready to acknowledge the need for them, but frankly admit that-there is little prospect of the consumption of Australian commodities being materially increased in -the near future save in the event of some great shortage, such as the present meat scarcity, when the President might be called upon to issue an executive order temporarily lifting the duty on certain commodities such as he did with hay and feed a year ago. The existing shortage of butter has helped Australia little, however, for whereas 22,000,000 pounds have been imported in the past three months New Zealand has provided 2,000,000 pounds, but Australia only 250,000. This is due to the export bounty which automatically put a compensating tariff increase on Australian butter when bought into the United States.