TENDERS IN U.S.

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28801, 23 January 1959, Page 9

TENDERS IN U.S.

Britain To Protest

(N.Z Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, Jan. 22. The President of the Board of Trade ,(Sir David Eccles) said last night that he would protest strongly every time British tenders were turned down unfairly in America, the “Daily Express” said today. He was referring to the award of a contract for heavy hydraulic turbines in Arkansas to an American firm whose bid was £lOO,OOO sterling higher than a tender by British Electric. The British Ambassador in Washington (Sir Harold Caccia) has delivered two protests to the State Department. The Americans had claimed that the reason for the rejection of the British tender was unemployment in the turbine-manufacturing, industry in the United States, the “Daily Express” said. Unofficial circles cited private lobbying of the Government as the cause. Sir David Eccles said there was no-good trading reasbn for the, rejection of > British Electric’s tender. \ He regarded it as a “‘bad returfl” for the steps Britain had taken to liberalise her imports of dollar-bought machinery The. “Scotsman” today endorsed the British Government’s expression of concern at the rejection of the British tender and said the American procedure left itself wide open to lobbying and abuse by vested interests The “Daily Mail” said: “The United States should not invite foreign tenders if she has no intention of accepting them.” But the ‘‘Daily Express” said the rejection was realistic policy and added: “If Britain adopts a similar hard-headed policy of putting her own interests first, the net outcome of this lesson will be gain and not loss.”