GERMAN CARTELS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25181, 12 May 1947, Page 3

GERMAN CARTELS

—♦ — MEASURES FOR BRITISH AND U.S. ZONES Details of the proposed breaking up of cartels in Germany as provided by laws for the British and American zones were given in Reuters and Associated Press reports in the “Manchester Guardian” recently. The aim of the laws, which will come into immediate effect, is to prevent Germany from endangering the safety of her neighbours and again constituting* a threat to international peace; to destroy Germany’s economic potential to wage war; to ensure that measures taken for Germany’s reconstruction are consistent with peaceful and democratic purposes; and to lay the groundwork for buildingfe healthy and democratic German economy. The laws prohibit German participation in international and domestic cartel arrangements, forbid the combination of interests in restraint of trade, and provide for an investigation ‘of all enterprises employing more than 10,000 workers as “prima facie” excessive concentrations of economic power. Where examination shows that an organisation is guilty orders will be given for a dispersal of its economic power, whether this is derived from the site of the firm or from the nature of its associations. In both zones penalties provide for fines up to 200,000 Reichsmarks (about £5000) and 10 years’ imprisonment. A proposal to include the death penalty was dropped. The penalties may be imposed either by German or Control Commission courts. The law will be administered by a commission of the two Powers with a German civilian commission having subcommissions in the various states. Under the British plan, exemption from the law is granted to the Reichsbahn. German railways, the Reichspost, and public utilities in the zone, but they will have to subniit to the Military Government reports and information as required. Enterprises already under Military Government control are also exempted. These include I. G. Farben Industrie, Krupps, and coal, iron and ste.el industries, which will be socialised. t In the United States zone an Estimated 80 per cent, of all basic German business contracts will be invalidated because of the “national pastime” of writing in clauses in restraint of trade, which is forbidden under the new measure. Mr James Martin, who will control the zone, listed five concerns with about £25.000,000 in assets, which will automatically be considered as providing prima facie evidence of being excessive concentrations by employing 10,000 or more persons. These are—the Opel motor works at Russelsheim (with 22,000 employees), the Bosche works at Stuttgart (15,000). the Degussa works (10,000), th? Metallgesellschaft at Frankfurt (10.000), and the Gutehoffnungshiitte, with its headquarters at Oberhausen in the British zone and a large subsidiary works at Nuremberg. All five were not only excessive in size but were offenders as exercising monopolies and as having been producers for the German war machine. Some of the companies affected had a “certain amount” of foreign capital, such as the Opel works, which is controlled by General Motors.

A senior British Control Commission officer would not comment on the “far more drastic decartelisation measure” believed to have been drawn up by the Russians some months ago. “We have not yet given up hope that there will be a four-Power agreement,” he said.