Response by U.S. to reform ideas—P.M.

Press, 27 February 1984, Page 8

Response by U.S. to reform ideas—P.M.

NZPA staff correspondent Washington The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Muldoon, wound up a red carpet four-day visit to Washington yesterday and said he was pleased with responses to his ideas for reform of the international trade and payments system, with safeguards instituted to protect New Zealand against any more American dairy deals like one proposed for Jamaica, and with a promised review of New Zealand’s progress towards meeting a March 31, 1985, deadline for phasing out export incentives. United States officials made it clear, however, that the Administration is still firmly opposed to a new Bretton Woods-style conference and that the dairy deal with Jamaica would go ahead, even though it is still under negotiation, with nothing signed. “The Jamaica thing is done — that is in the past,” said Sir Robert yesterday. He said also that in spite of the coming review on export assistance, New Zealand still had the same agreement that it had a year or two ago — “we have made a commitment” — although he did say he believed it would be pos-

sible to marry the points of view of the two nations on this.

It appeared, also, that Sir Robert had got nowhere at this stage with hints that New Zealand would appreciate favourable terms, such as a low interest rate, if it bought American strike aircraft for the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

President Reagan’s words to Sir Robert on the south portico of the White House after their talks and working luncheon on Saturday were warm, and both he and Sir Robert emphasised the friendship and common viewpoint between the peoples of the two countries.

Sir Robert had earlier told reporters that the Americans were alarmed by the prospect of a Labour government which might ban nuclear-armed warships, and made a point in his White House speech of mentioning that American military personnel were welcome in New Zealand and that it remained a staunch ally, not a “fair weather friend.”

Sir Robert, in Washington, had adopted a plural tone while describing his proposals for reform of the world financial system, with the suggestion that this was now a proposal emanating

from the Commonwealth, or other groupings, and in a speech to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies he said, “The phrase ‘a new Bretton Woods’ has now played its role.” In Washington, Sir Robert had been emphasising a step-by-step approach —

that such a conference should be a long-term goal, and that the immediate need was to have the problems studied by a committee such as the International Monetary Fund’s interim committee, with 22 members, big countries represented individually and smaller ones by blocs, with votes weighted accordingly in favour of the big countries.

At the C. 5.1.5., Sir Robert said, “By advocating ‘a new Bretton Woods’ I am not suggesting that we should convene an unwieldy conference and expect that to produce answers to issues of the greatest complexity. “Precisely because there is now a good deal of support for the idea, we should now concentrate on thq essential task ahead — to set in train a very deliberate and wide-ranging examination of the issues raised by global economic interdependence.” The American dairy deal

for Jamaica involves putting 4000 tonnes of surplus butter and cheese on the commercial market there — a market served by New Zealand for 40 years — with the profits going to help farmers. New Zealand had complained before about American surplus dairy products being given to other countries, with the consequent danger that this would depress normal buying, but this was the first time they would be sold, in direct competition with New Zealand dairy produce. Sir Robert said, however, that an early-warning system had been set up in case such initiatives emanated again from American aid officials, and that he was confident no such future deals would be undertaken. An American official who briefed reporters on the talks would not go so far, but he did say no similar deals were being contemplated and that if they were, New Zealand would be consulted from an early stage with the aim of protecting its interests.

Sir Robert and Lady Muldoon left Washington yesterday for New York, and will go on from there to Louisiana, Texas, and Hawaii before returning home.