CONTRABAND CONTROL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 78, 12 January 1940, Page 5

CONTRABAND CONTROL

EFFECT ON GERMAN TRADE. MANY CARGOES DETAINED. (Received This Day, 9.0 a.m.) LONDON, January 10. Cargoes examined by the contraband control last Aveek Avere 28 Norwegian, 28 Netherlands, 26 Italian, 12 Swedish, seven Belgian, eight Danish, five British, seven Greek and five American. Eighty-four complete cargoes were released. Only one Jtalian and one American ship Avere detained longer than five days.

Information reaching official circles here from all over the world indicates that the effect of the British reprisals against German exports is already being felt after the scheme has been in operation for only one month. Man} 7 orders for German goods from oversea neutrals have been cancelled, and it is clear that the cause for this is the difficulty of shipment of German goods when shipping and insurance agencies demand certificates or origin certified by the British or French control authorities. The authorities in London have taken precautions to meet the eventuality of attempts to export goods from Germany under cover of neutral agencies.

It is also realised that attempts may lie made to establish German-owned and operated factories in neutral countries to manufacture goods which would in. fact, he of German origin, but which would bear neutral trade marks. In official quarters in London, it is confirmed that such goods would not bo recognised as genuine neutral goods, and would be liable to the same treatment as other German exports. During the week ended January 6, the British Contraband Control Committee intercepted and detained 6*200 tons of contraband goods, of which there was evidence that they were destined for Germany. The total included 2400 tons of petroleum and allied products, 1000 tons of pig lead, 1400 tons of miscellaneous foodstuffs, 800 tons of lion-metallic products, 150 tons of oils and fats, and 100 tons of various ores, metals and other commodities. Britain lias in the first 18 weeks of war detained a total of 544,000 tons. On January 9, 48 neutral ships were in the three United Kingdom contraband control bases, of which 24 had been there for five days or fewer. During the week ended January 6, the Contraband Committee considered the cargoes of 105 ships which had arrived since December 30, and 36 outstanding cargoes from the previous week. In 84 cases the entire cargoes were released. The system under which manifests ot cargoes are received and considered before the ships’ arrival resulted during the week in 43 cases being so dealt with, and in 31 cases in the ships concerned being released, subject merely to formal checking. The Ministry of Economic Warfare states that since the “navicert” system was introduced, more than 5000 applications have already been appro vedd. The largest number of applications comes from the United States, while the Argentine takes second place, followed-by Brazil and Uruguay.