P.M. urges wealth sharing

Press, 3 October 1979, Page 6

P.M. urges wealth sharing

NZPA Belgrade A plea for more equal sharing of the world’s wealth and more consideration for the plight of small States was made by the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) to world financial leaders in Belgrade yesterday. The world’s main economies should bear a bigger share of the burden borne by smaller and poorer countries, he said in the chairman’s opening address to the joint annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He attacked increasing protectionism. “We who live by our exports have not

; been greatly encouraged by trade developments over the 1 last few years,” he said. > The Multilateral Trade Ne- - gotiations in Geneva had f had mixed results and there ' was a genuine fear that the spreading pattern of unoffll cial trade barriers would - nullify what progress had been made. “A disturbing message • seems to be emerging: that ' the burden of adjustment for ■ changing factor prices and demand patterns will have to be borne by the smaller and poorer countries that have in fact the least room to manoeuvre,” Mr Muldoon said. Representatives of all the main developed. States out-

side the Soviet bloc were among Mr Muldoon’s audience. Mr Muldoon, flanked by President Tito, the president of the world bank (Mr Robert McNamara), and the I.M.F.’s managing director (Mr Jacques de Larosiere), said world trade had not increased in line with prices and the terms of trade of non-oil developing countries had been particularly hard hit. Invisibles such as insurance and freight had increased sharply, siphoning another layer of potential net earnings away from the many who could least afford it towards the few who dominated these fields.

Some improvements in the last two years, such as coordinated growth rates and improved external payments by developed countries, were threatened. Mr Muldoon drew two conclusions from present developments: the indivisibility of the world economy and the futility of domestic economic policies that were governed by domestic political expediency to the detriment of wider international interests.

“It is clear that the world economy faces stormy weather ahead. We can be thankful . . . that both our institutions are active, able, and imaginatively reponsive to our needs.”