German Methods in Trade War

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 112, 4 February 1939, Page 1 (Supplement)

German Methods in Trade War

( I ERMANY is not discriminating against the British goods in Gerg ’ many,” said Mr. R. S. Hudson, Secretary to tlie Overseas Trade I « Department, in an important pronouncement in tlie House of Commons with regard to Germany’s trade methods and their effect on Great Britain's export trade. “Our complaint is that Germany is, by her methods, destroying trade throughout Hie world. We thus have no ease for taking away Most-Favoured-Nation treatment, which depends upon how Germany treats our goods in Germany, and tlie question is the very much broader one of liow to meet the new form of German competition throughout tlie world. “As far as Germany herself is concerned, we have got her to take our exports up to 60 per cent, of her exports to us, up to a certain level, and up to 90 per cent, of her exports to us in excess of tin’s level. “As regards Central and South-Eastern Europe, I have got out some figures which. I think, will interest the House. As far as we can make out, because it is difficult to get very exact information as to Hie way in which tilings are done in Germany. Hie basis of their hold is that they pay to producers in Central and South-Eastern Europe much more than Hie world price.

“Obviously, they do Hint nt Hie expense of their own people. How they treat their own people is a mutter for Hie German Government, but it does l affect us. At a particular date this year the Germans were paying over

£lO a ton for wheat, at a time when Manitoba No. 1 wheat was selling at £7 on Hie London market. “We found, also, that she was buying barley at £7/10/- a ton when the London price was £5/6/-. She was buying eggs at £7/12/- the metric quintal when Hie price in London was £5/18/-. Site lias followed the same course in regard to cotton, hides, meat, poultry, oil seeds and cereals, buying them at prices so high Hint producers sending to other markets cannot hope to obtain similar prices; x “In the case of Turkey, for example, to take the ease of mohair, owing to her action imports of mohair to this country which were £190,0(H) in the first ten months of last year, have decreased to £24,000 in the corresponding period this year because of the increase in price. “The effect of it is that tlie Rumanian or Bulgarian peasant receives more from his sales to Germany than he would be able to get by sales on the world market. “Then lake the case of Poland. The Germans have entered into an agreement by which Poland gets a large quantity of machinery, in this ease at competitive prices. Germany lias contracted to buy over a period of nine years agricultural produce from Poland at well above world prices, and Poland has also obtained her goods on credit and lias to pay interest at a very low rate.