INTERNATIONAL SITUATION.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20587, 1 July 1932, Page 16

INTERNATIONAL SITUATION.

♦ REVIEW BY THE LEAGUE. BRITAIN'S POSITION IMPROVED. LONDON, June 15. The report of the League of Nations on the international situation shows that the British position is better than that of most countries, and has improved since the abandonment of the gold standard and the adoption of tariffs. The League shows that the value of world trade is only half that of the first quarter of 1929, and unemployment is daily increasing, the figure being now estimated at 20,000,000. A still larger agricultural population throughout the world is in dire straits. • The Board of Trade returns show a downward trend in the volume of production in British manufactures lasting through the whole of 1930 and" the first nine months of 1931. The volume recovered 7.7 per cent, in the first quarter of 1932. On _ the other _ hand, German and American industrial production reveals a heavy decline in 1932. Germany is continually complaining of British competition. The French situation is also gloomy, especially in textiles. The owners of several large mills are contemplating closing, and many mills at Lille, the great textile centre, are already working 41 per cent, short time. The continuance of the crisis has caused the Suez Canal Company to renew for a further six months its temporary reduction in transit rates to encourage shipping.