EMPIRE CUSTOMS UNION

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25300, 27 September 1947, Page 9

EMPIRE CUSTOMS UNION

REJECTION OF PLAN BY N.Z. COMMENT BY MONTREAL NEWSPAPER MONTREAL, Sp-itember 25. The Montreal ‘‘Star,” i a leading article, says: “The annuu cement by the New Zealand Prime Minister (Mr P. Fraser) that an Empire customs union is unacceptable to New Zealand, probably rings down the curtain on Mr Ernest Bevin's hasty suggestion. Unlike Canada, New Zealand belongs to the sterling area, which means that there is no purely monetary obstacle in the way of increasing British and New Zealand trade.

“Mr Fraser’s statement, therefore, suggests that other obstacles block the way. One of these might be that New Zealand does not want to put itself in the position of tying itself more closely to a country which cannot produce sufficient export goods to meet the demand. Even if an Empire customs union would work in the long run, it certainly would not work while British industry is still only in the process of recovery.

“But other factors may be at work. New Zealand had, of all countries, the best record of trying to work inside the framework of the old League of Nations. It may be that the New Zealand Government now believes that an exclusive Imperial scheme would weaken the United Nations.

“Moreover, it should not be forgotten that the two Antipodean Dominions, when they met the crisis in the Pacific war, realised for the first time that the long arm of American strength could reach and help them. They might, therefore, feel that United States sentiment should be considered before entering into exclusive arrangements with the United Kingdom.” .