AUSTRIAN DEBTS TO BE PAID

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22444, 4 July 1938, Page 9

AUSTRIAN DEBTS TO BE PAID

GERMAN AGREEMENT WITH BRITAIN TERMS NEGOTIATED IN LONDON (BRITISH OrriClAL WIULBSS.) (Received July 2, 11.20 a.m.) RUGBY, July 1. The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir John Simon) announced in the House of Commons that the British and German delegations which had been negotiating a revision of the British-German payments agreement to take account of the incorporation of Austria in the German Reich, had arrived at a settlement. Sir John Simon made a statement as follows: “The basis of the settlement is that without prejudice to the question of legal liability, the German Government, will reimburse the United , Kingdom Government for any sums paid in respect of the guarantees of Austrian guaranteed loans, and assure full service of the bonds of these loans owned by British holders on July 1, 1938. “The settlement also confirms the principles of an arrangement reached between the German representatives and the German Long-term Creditors’ Committee for the future service of other German and Austrian long-term debts. “Under the arrangement, the service of the following German and Austrian loans will be:— “For the Dawes loan and the Austrian 7 per cent, loan of 1930, 5 per cent, interest and 2 per cent, cumulative sinking fund. “For the Young plan and the Saarbrucken loan, 4£ per cent, interest and 1 per cent, cumulative sinking fund, the latter beginning after two years. “The service of the German Government 4 per cent, funding bonds and also of the Austrian Government Credit Anstalt bonds _ owned by British holders will continue in full. A Temporary Settlement “In respect to the other medium and long-term debts of Germany and Austria, there will be a temporary settlement under which, during the next two years, coupons, dividends, etc., will be paid in cash at 50 per cent, of their normal amount with a maximum of 4 per cent. “The standstill agreement relating to banking debts is not affected. “As regards trade, an agreement has been reached for the revision of allocations for United Kingdom exports out of the sterling proceeds of German exports to the United Kingdom, on a sliding scale which should enable the level of the United Kingdom exports to the Greater Reich to be maintained as heretofore. A , “The German Government has agreed that a larger proportion of the allocation will be used for the purchase of finished goods, -but if the sterling proceeds of German exports left at the disposal of the German Government are inadequate to meet their financial obligations to the United Kingdom, it will be open to the German Government to approach the British Government with a view to a reduction of the allocation for United Kingdom exports. “Finally, the two Governments have undertaken to enter into further negotiations with a view to increasing mutual trade and improving the trade relations between the two countries.” . . The formal agreements giving effect to these arrangements were signed and will take effect to-day. • The statement was welcomed by the Labour and Liberal Opposition spokesmen, who reserved their comments on the substance of the arrangements, which Sir John Simon himself described as a satisfactory termination to very difficult negotiations. GERMAN TRADE POLICY “SELF-SUFFICIENCY NOT SOUGHT” MINISTER SEEKS EXCHANGE OF GOODS (Received July 3, 10.30 p.m.) BERLIN, July 2. Herr Funk, Minister for Economic Affairs, in a speech in Berlin, said: “Nothing is more false than to accuse Germany of striving for selfsufficiency.” Self-preservation, he said, was not self-sufficiency, and Germany did not want to be self-sufficient. The world was so rich in materials and Germany was so rich in craftsmanship capable of producing valuable ooods for the world, that exchange was only natural and desirable. NAZIS CHARPED WITH EMBEZZLEMENT TWELVE COMMISSIONERS ARRESTED CONFISCATION OF JEWISH PROPERTY (Received July 3, 10 p.m.) VIENNA, July 2. The newspapers announced that 12 Nazi commissioners whom Herr Biirckel, the Nazi administrator, had placed in charge of Jewish businesses had been arrested on charges of embezzlement. After their arrest Herr Burckel ordered a thorough examination of the whole confiscation of Jewish property; -