Britain Will Regain Trading Crown In 10 Or 12 Years' Time

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 14711, 1 July 1948, Page 3

Britain Will Regain Trading Crown In 10 Or 12 Years' Time

Trade President’s Firm Belief

Import Restrictions And Dominions (By Reece Smith—N.Z. Kemsley Empire Journalist 1948) London, June 11. Import restrictions cited as a brake on Britain’s export drive are not those imposed in New Zealand. The President of the Board of Trade (Mr Harold Wilson), gave this assurance during an hour’s interview with the four Kemsley Empire Journalists today. There is a standing request that the sterling area Dominions keep their sterling and dollar expenditure within current earnings. The means to this end are for the politicians of each Dominion to decide. In other words, Mr Wilson disclaims any part in selecting what should, and what should not, be denied to New Zealanders on the score of “aid to Britain.”

Dominion exports to almost any part of the world help Britain. For example, Australia’s wheat surplus last year went to India. Britain, thus absolved from buying wheat from India, met her own needs from Canadian supplies. The result was that there was no draw off of U.S. dollars for U.S. wheat last year. South Africa is helping with gold exports to the U.S. other exports to South America. Mr Wilson believes that in 10 to 12 years time the Empire, working as a unit, can regain the work! trading crown wrested from Britain by the U.S.

This unity would embrace Britain and the colonies, rather than the Dominions, who are entitled to take any independent economic course they choose. They have sentimental and practical ties witp Britain. Development of colonial territories was being sbw p rl btr the sam° shortages as were bedevilling world recovery.

The British people do not like their present economic dependence on U.S., Mr Wilscn agreed, but he urged that, if people stopped to consider the figures of trade, they would realise it is temporarily inescapable. Britain’s import and export accounts would balance by 1950 or 1951 he hoped. This achievement would be her greatest peacetime industrial effort of the twentieth century, far surpassing the late thirties, now general]v looked on as normal years. Not since before 1914 has Britain exported as much as she imported. Between the wars, to a varying extent —there were good and bad years—she drew on her overseas investments, capital, and invisible imports such as shipping earnings to balance her accounts.

Despite the austerity, there is more food being consumed in Britain now than in 1938, Mr Wilson claimed. There has been some increase in population, and there are two and a half million others who are eating rather better now they are working than at that time, when thev were unemployed. Shipping is hampering Britain’s imports, not her exports. Considerably more, by volume, is being shipped into the country than is being expected, U.S. ships are doing the job in some cases, but British Merchant Navy is pushing ahead.