TRADE STRUGGLE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 238, 9 October 1933, Page 5

TRADE STRUGGLE.

JAPANESE ATTITUDE.

WORLD-WIDE SHRINKAGE.

DANGER OF RESTRICTION.

! A Japanese view of competition in I industry was put by Mr. K. Shimada, one of the Japanese representatives to the recent International Cotton Congress, a report of which has been liberated in the bulletin of the International Federation of Cotton Spinners, says the "Financial Times."

Mr. SMinada made it dear that the Japanese Spinners' Association was always ready to examine in a co-operative spirit and on an equitable basis any international scheme which they could develop at that meeting or at any other time with a view to alleviating the world's economic evils.

The total value of the world's trade, he reminded the conference, had been steadily decreasing for live years, until, for the first quarter of 1929, it was not more than 35 per cent of what it was five years previous. He felt compelled to draw attention to tho danger of relying too much on restrictive measures of production, holding that such attempts which had been applied in the past years in a number of affiliated cotton associations, not excepting Japan, had proved quite inadequate, if not injurious to the fundamental recovery of the industry.

Applying himself to the international trade of his country, Mr. Shimada asked

those who might possibly regard the Japanese as the enfant terrible of international trade to remember that Japan buys in the world's markets more than she sells, and by buying in foreign markets as much as they did he felt they were entitled to sell as much as they were selling at present. As to the complaint made against Japan, particularly the cotton industry, of selling cheaply, the blame ought really to be put on the buyers. No sellers, even cotton spinners, would prefer to sell at a lower price than they were positively compelled to accept.

j If they went a step further into the iquestion they would be at once coni fronted with the undeniable fact that I the economic development of the Western I nations had been achieved mainly through reductions in the cost of production by the application of mechanical and chemical knowledge, as against the old methods of manual or antiquated appliances. In conclusion, Mr. Shimada declared there could be no wrong, morally or economically, in supplying mankind with the necessities of life at low prices.

The United States Department of Commerce states that Japan's exports of cotton cloth for March amounted to 183,000,000 yards, showing an increase over the exports in February, which amounted to 157,000,000 yards, and over the exports in March, 1932, which totalled 148,000,000 yards.

The law controlling the export trade in Japan became effective in May. Details regarding this law are not available, but it is generally known that the Government intends to exert some control over exports of certain commodities, as the competition among domestic manufacturers last year and the large exports of some products resulted in unfavourable action by some foreign countries with reference to imports of Japanese goods.