N.Z. Effort For Safeguards

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32323, 15 June 1970, Page 22

N.Z. Effort For Safeguards

(N.Z.PA. Staff Correspondent) LONDON, June 14. New Zealand Ambassadors in Europe will gather in London on Monday for a review of New Zealand’s efforts to seek special safeguards for its trade should Britain enter the Common Market.

The Secretary of Industries and Commerce (Mr M. J. Moriarty) said the various heads of mission would be brought up to date with the present position concerning New Zealand’s problems in Europe. “Essentially, we will confer on the whole E.E.C. question and will be interested to hear the various views on how they see things developing from their respective capitals,” he said. The diplomats attending the conference will come from Brussels, The Hague, Bonn, Rome, Paris, and Geneva. Staff at the New Zealand High Commission in London will also participate. Mr Moriarty said he was “not disturbed” at any developments in the present Anglo-New Zealand talks on I the approach to be adopted

.by Britain toward New Zea- | land problems when negotiations with the Six get under ; way. “There is an understanding i in London of the importance of our commodity trade to our economy, and the British are showing a willingness to discuss things with us,” he said. The talks were proceeding “usefully.” Mr Moriarty said he expected that the British and New Zealand teams of officials would meet again on Tuesday. This meeting, it is understood, may be a particularly important one for New Zealand, as the two sides are expected then to concentrate in some detail on the British negotiating strategy. So far, both sides have talked in general terms of the problems posed by New Zealand’s special trading circumstances. Their meeting yesterday dealt with various technical methods of protecting this trade within an enlarged E.E.C. But on Tuesday the New Zealanders appear likely to press for some clear idea of how Whitehall intends to promote the New Zealand case in the early stages of negotiations—notably during the formal opening on June 30, and at the session on July

It was learned in Brussels today that before this formal negotiation in July, the Whitehall team now involved in the talks with the New 'Zealanders will be involved in preliminary talks with IE.E.C. officials, about July 14. A factor hampering New Zealand officials at present is the British General Election looming next week. Whitehall is reluctant to commit Britain to any line of approach, first, because at this stage it is difficult to contact Cabinet ministers who are on the “election stump,” and second, because a Conservative Government could have entirely differing views. Within the E.E.C. Commission at present, work is being done on the vital topic of reducing the cost to the community of farm-price support structures. Last Monday, the proposals put forward by the commission to lower over-all returns to farmers for milk products

were rejected by the community’s agricultural ministers, who retained the same price levels for 1970-71 as have been in existence since 1968-69. The commission’s case for a price cut was attacked on the grounds that ’whereas predictions had been made that butter stocks might reach 500,000 tons in the early months of 1970, they

had, in fact, reached 320,000 tons—a big difference between estimate and realisation. A part of the commission's proposal was that hand-in-hand with the price cuts should go intensified efforts to reduce farm costs. While rejecting the price cuts, the Ministers accepted this second part of the proposal.