WARNING GIVEN BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25934, 14 October 1949, Page 7

WARNING GIVEN BRITAIN

U.N. EUROPEAN ECONOMIC SURVEY LONDON, October 12. The Geneva correspondent of the Associated Press says that the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe issued a warning to-day that Britain might lose the advantage of sterling devaluation unless she imposed severe limitations on her own exports to the sterling area.

The commission’s quarterly survey of European economy, which gave this warning, also said that drastic cuts in the dollar imports of sterling countries other than Britain would be necessary to reduce the overall deficit of the sterling area. The survey said that restrictions on both sterling and dollar imports of overseas sterling countries would tend to increase those countries’ own economic problems, but the difficulties might be largely overcome by greater recourse to the resources of international and other agencies established to aid in economic development or to finance exports. "The gold and dollar deficit of the sterling area is one of the most critical features of Europe’s current economic situation,” the survey added. “Major readjustments appear to be necessary if the deficit is to be eventually eliminated.”