DENIAL GIVEN IN WASHINGTON

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25275, 29 August 1947, Page 7

DENIAL GIVEN IN WASHINGTON

No Understanding On Loan Article “CONFIDENCE IN BRITAIN’’

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9.30.) WASHINGTON, Aug. 27. The United States Secretary of the Treasury (Mr John Snyder) to-day emphatically denied that there was any formal or informal gentlemen’s agreement or implied understanding to modify the non-discriminatory Article 9 of the British-American loan agrees ment ‘‘outside the spirit and letter of the loan.” (Article 9 forbids Britain to stop purchases of any given commodity in the United States and buy it instead at a higher price in the soft currency area.) Mr Snyder disclosed that Sir Wilfrid Eady would return to Washington to resume the financial discussions, but probably not until after the meeting of the governors of the International Lank and Fund in London, beginning

on September 10. Mr Snyder said he would undertake no negotiations on the British or any other loan while he was in London next month, but discussions on the freeing of the final loan balance of 400,000,000 dollars would continue, and the unfreezing of that sum did not necessarily depend on Britain restoring convertibility. He expressed great confidence in Britain’s ability to find a solution of her serious economic problems. He declared that it was his desire and the desire of the United States Government to carry out the original purpose of the loan, namely, to get Britain back on her feet economically.

“I have the greatest confidence in the seriousness and energy with which the British are tackling the problem and I feel that they will find a sqlu* tion,” said Mr Snyder. Sir Wilfrid Eady had informed him that it was the British Government’s desire to resume convertibility as soon as possible. Mr Snyder described the decision to suspend convertibility as “a breathing spell” for Britain while she worked to channel the resumed convertibility transactions through the Bank of England. Reuters says: “Mr Snyder’s denial of any agreement or understanding on Article 9 is interpreted in Washington as meaning that the British consider that they can considerably expand their trade with the Empire without violating that clause, because it is believed that inflated price? in America and the comparative price stability in the Empire areas mean that Britain can in fact buy many commodities m various parts of the British Commonwealth without infringing Article 9.”