Temporary Offer To Denmark

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30127, 10 May 1963, Page 13

Temporary Offer To Denmark

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

LISBON, May 9. Britain is believed to have offered Denmark “temporary suspension” of the tariff on Danish butter entering Britain.

It is believed the offer was made at talks yesterday between the British Lord Privy Seal (Mr Heath), the British Agriculture Minister (Mr Soamesi. and the Danish Foreign Minister (Mr Haekkerup) The Ministers are in Lisbon for today’s European Free Trade Association meeting Officials emphasised that a number of details remained to be worked out on the butter tariff question But there was optimism in the British delegation about the chances of an agreement

The present tariff on Danish butter is 15s per cwt Denmark has been pressing tor equal treatment with the Commonwealth for butter as □art of the price for cutting tariffs on industrial goods within ‘he EFT A Australia and New Zealand have been seeking assurances about the future of their British butter markets before agreeing to any change in the Commonwealth butter preference

In London, the “Financial Times” quoted Mr Haekkerup as saying last night that Britain had made a qualified offer to Denmark that the butter tariff should be temporarily suspended Mr Haekkerup made it clear the offer was subject to agreement at the Commonwealth trade ministers *alks tn London next week ‘Essential Concession” The “Financial Times" said nighly-placed E F T A sources regarded the butter concession as essential to the success of EF T A negotiations xi industrial tariffs

The newspaper said: “There is no certainty that New Zealand and Australia will formally agree to the temporary elimination of their butter preference However, the expectation is that they will" A “Daily Express" edi-

tonal described the concession as “shameful and mistaken ’’

It said it involved “the betrayal by Britain of her partners in the Empire.” In a letter to the “Financial Times” today, the director of the Commonwealth Producers’ Organisation, Mr Philip Broadbent, said: “It is not surprising that pastoralists in far away New Zealand and Australia are reluctant to see the firm basis on which their livelihood depends exchanged for a temporary arrangement the pressures upon which are unlikely to come from EF T A alone.”

“The Times” today argued against the idea of developing Commonwealth trade by an extension of Commonwealth preferences

In an editorial it said: “If Commonwealth trade is to be developed by the extension of Commonwealth trade preferences and by running against the whole philosophy of GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) as is now suggested, this is probably based on a misconception of the nature of Commonwealth trade

"In the first place, the Commonwealtl is not a single economic unit sueb as the Common Market. It consists of countries at varying stages of development some with high tariffs, some with low tariffs

"It is not easy to see how Britain could expect to benefit from any significant reductions in tariffs in countries such as Australia. Canada or New Zealand Most of them are at an early stage of industrial development needing high tariff protection

“Second, if at this stage, when Britain's hopes- are still tied to the prospect of lowering industrial tariffs on a world-wide basis through the Kennedy round negotiations at G A T.T.. Britain suggested a major amendment to the GATT, constitution concerning Commonwealth preferences. any hopes of a concerted move towards freer world trade might have to be set aside

"This is not to suggest that the Commonwealth Ministers cannot make a useful cooperative contribution to the GATT round in Geneva.” it said “It does mean that thic should not be thought of as a narrow Commonwealth affair.”

Airport Search

(N.2. Press Assn.— Copyright) SYDNEY. May 9. An elderly woman, suspected of being a member of an international gold smuggling gang, was stripped and searched at Kinesford Smith air.o-t this week. She was intercepted when about to board a plane for India

Nothing was found by the policewoman making the search to link the woman, aged over 60. with the gang, and she was allowed to continue her journey.