WITH AUSTRALIA.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 33, 9 February 1937, Page 7

WITH AUSTRALIA.

GERMANS WISH PACT. Wool, Butter, Hides and Other Products. OBSTACLE OF BRITAIN. BERLIN", February 4. Germany's desire to trade with Australia was emphasised to-day bv Herr Ruter. the head of the Australian section of the Office. "We would welcome any arrangement that would give us an opportunity of buying more wool and other Australian products."' he declared. "We would be willing to conclude a treaty with the Commonwealth on the lines of those recently made with France. Czechoslovakia and Belgium. "We have suggested that Australia should follow the lines of the Belgian treaty and give us reduced rates on machine-tools, chemicals and a few other lines. We are prepared to spend every pound we make by selling to Australia on buying wool, hides, skins, butter and other Australian products. "We cannot reduce the duty on most of these because they are already free. We cannot at present undertake to give definite quotas, fixed in advance, for Australian products, because we do not know what credits will be available until we know how much of our gooda Australia can take. Credits Problem. "The triangul?r trade idea wiiexeby Australia would sell to Germany, Germany would sell to Britain and Britain would make credits available to Australia is quite practicable from our point of view, but there is a difficulty with Britain. "We have an agreement with Britain [ under which we take goods to the value of £55 |»er cent of our sales to Britain, the other 45 per cent being appropriated as interest on debts to Britain and payment for other services, and I do not think that Britain would agree to the inclusion of Dominion goods in her quota. "Our agreement with South Africa has worked so well that the amount exchanged last year was £3.000.000, and it will be £4,000,000 for 1937. "We not only buy Australian wool direct, but buy wool tops by Britain. These, however, are included in the British total and we are not credited as a customer of the Commonwealth for them.

"Another difficulty is caused bv the exchange position. As Germany remains on gold, the home value of her exports is much higher than the export value, and in many cases the Customs duty is charged on the home value. We have asked that where our export price is liot below the export price of countries off gold, we should not be assessed on the home value."