Big Increase In Trade With U.S. Not Expected

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27710, 14 July 1955, Page 14

Big Increase In Trade With U.S. Not Expected

Trade between New Zealand and the United States was confidently expected to increase,. but he did not look for any spectacular increase, because the peoples of the two countries were alike and generally produced the same type of goods, said Mr Clement D. Johnston, chairman of the board *of the United States Chamber of Commerce, in an interview with “The Press” yesterday. It was not a question only of unilateral trade, said Mr Johnston. It was bound up with world trade. The United States was hoping for the early relaxation of currency restrictions. It was cheered by the hope in England last year that the convertibility of sterling would be restored. The situation appeared to be improving. The International Bank had announced a few weeks ago that the situation was much better.

“If we restore convertibility, it will certainly promote a marked increase in the trade between the United States and New Zealand in both directions,” said Mr Johnston. “It is only the currency that is holding things back. For our part, we have great surpluses of goods, far better and cheaper than ever before. Television sets are selling for one third the price of three years ago, and, because of the intense competition between manufacturers, automobiles are selling for 500 dollars below the list price. “If you are content with a 1951 model, you can get one for £2OO. As a result of that, many American families are now buying their second and third automobiles. If Pop has one to go to work. Momma has one to drive round to get the groceries.” One of the problems of concern in the United States was its agricultural surpluses, in every item New Zealand would like to export it. The surpluses resulted from the war and the shortages after the war, the Department of Agriculture taking action to step up farm production to feed hungry Europe. In the United States, land was ploughed and farmers went In for intensive farming and a system of price supports accentuated that production.

“The farmer has learned to produce at the accelerated pace and looks to price supports and he does not want to fall back to less production,” said Mr Johnston. “It is creating some problems. Our butter surplus is being substantially reduced. Because of price support, the people learned to buy margarine produced from surplus cotton seed rather than butter as a staple of diet. And you don’t just kill off that many cows overnight. You in New Zealand produce the best butter in the world, and the cheapest, and if it were not for the encouragement of the use of margarine, we would be taking substantial quantities of butter from you. We do, of course, take great quantities of New Zealand wool, and the quality is the best. We do not have surpluses of beef and mutton but the prices are not such as to attract New Zealand trade.” • Millions of New Cars The number of motor vehicles in the United States was increasing at such a rate that it would take 24 miles of new streets each day to park the new vehicles, bumper to bumper, after allowing for worn out and junk cars, he said. Since 1946, the number of cars had increased from 30,600,000 to 58,000,000. "And the end seems nowhere in sight,” Mr Johnston commented. “And that, in turn, is causing us intense difficulties with our parking problems in the cities, which we are trying to meet through a 50,000.000,000 dollar roading programme, to be financed by bonds.” Answering a question at a luncheon by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, Mr Johnston said that when the bonds on toll roads were repaid, the roads reverted to State ownership. High traffic density was needed to justify the roads, the saving on which by users was many times that of the tolls. When the Indiana turnpike was completed, a motorist could drive from Chicago to New York al 60 miles an hour without one road crossing or turn-off. In New Jersey, the bonds for the tyrnpike had been paid off in seven years, against the estimated 23 years.