Free Trade Area For U.K. And Scandinavia Discussed

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28776, 23 December 1958, Page 17

Free Trade Area For U.K. And Scandinavia Discussed

(Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.)

LONDON, Dec. 22.

A definite move towards the creation of an Anglo-Scandinav-ian free trade area will be made next month when the Federation of British Industries and employers’ organisations of Sweden. Norway and Denmark start discussing the problems involved. They hope by the end of March to have a scheme, ready for presentation to the Governments concerned, for a free trade organisation among the four countries.

The model for the association is the free trade area plan which the French have rejected, but, it is understood, the employers

envisage the removal of tariffs within, perhaps, two years.

The decision to have a free trade association would naturally rest with the four Governments. If they agreed to proceed with it, Switzerland, Austria and possibly Portugal, might join in, the ‘‘FinancialTimes” diplomatic correspondent says. The preliminary discussions centre on the comparatively few difficult questions which would have to be solved if Anglo-Scandinavian trade is to be freed, but it was felt that these, Norway’s interest in the sale of fish and Denmark’s concern over her agricultural exports (especially bacon), could be dealt with on the basis of mutual assurances and guarantees. The “Manchester Guardian” says that the benefits of free trade association among the Scandinavians and Britain would be difficult to measure in terms of increased exports and imports. Scandinavian tariffs generally were already low, and the greatest virtue of the scheme might be to make Germany* and the Netherlands think more about large markets in the six industrial countries outside the European Common- Market they would lose, and then to persuade France to be more sympathetic towards free trade.

The decision to begin these talks is the outcome of a visit to Stockholm by the president and director-general of the Federation of British Industries (Sir Hugh Beaver and Sir Norman Kipping). They and the Swedish employers’ representatives agreed that, as there were no signs that a solution to the European free trade area could be found, valuable time would be lost if positive action were not taken by the six outer countries.