International trade at crossroads — P.M.

Press, 19 November 1977, Page 2

International trade at crossroads — P.M.

NZPA Chicago International trade is at a crossroads, the New Zealand Prime Minister (Mr Mul» doon) said in Chicago on Thursday,l speaking at a luncheon held by the Chicago Commit .ee on International Relations. Mr Muldoon said trade barriers were hurting many countries. New Zealand included. Without a renewed international commitment to combating protectionism in all its aspects, the world’s economy seemed doomed to drift from one crisis to another, he said.

Mr Muldoon said that the best hope for world prosperity lay in the dismantling of barriers which impeded

international trade. New Zealand had never sought hand-outs and was not ask* ing for them now. “What we seek and need is the right to trade fairly, unrestricted by artificial barriers with the world and specifically with the United States,” he said. Mr Muldoon’s address was similar to a number he has already given during his United States visit. He emphasised New Zealand's economic plight and the difficulty it had overcoming trade barriers to sell' in world markets. On bilateral trade relations, Mr Muldoon said New Zealand had the capacity to sell more in the United

States but was hindered by quotas on beef, butter, and cheese, and tariffs on carpet wool yam. “I hope that it will be possible perhaps even as a result of this visit to move towards solving some of these (quotas) problems to bring our trade more into balance and increase the flow in both directions,” he said. Last year, New Zealand bought S4OOM worth of American goods but sold only $295M worth in the United States. Mr Muldoon attacked domestic reasons for American opposition to increased sales of New Zealand beef and dairy products as "misconception.”