The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1944. POST-WAR TRADE OUTLOOK

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 14, 11 October 1944, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1944. POST-WAR TRADE OUTLOOK

Mr. W. Goodfellow has played such a prominent part in the dairying industry of the Dominionjthat his views on the post-war trade outlook [published in our news columns yesterday] will be given careful study. There has been a natural tendency for producers to view the long-term agreements for the sale of our dairy produce and meat, entered into with the British Government, as a valuable stabilizing factor in what may prove to be a trying period. Mr. Goodfellow endorsed this, but gave, in addition, the British point of view. These agreements, he said, would “safeguard the food supplies of the United Kingdom during the difficult post-war years, when foreign gold might be used temporarily to divert food from normal channels.” The idea of the agreements being of valuable mutual benefit will be pleasing to the producers, but they lead, as Mr. Goodfellow has shown, to other obligations that must be given serious consideration by the people of the Dominion. The trade between the two countries must also be reciprocal, as far as possible, for in order to regain her former position in world trade, and to pay for imports of foodstuffs and raw materials, the United Kingdom must increase her export trade “far in excess of pre-war days.” The Chancellor of the Exchequer, speaking in the House of Commons, expressed his belief that the country would be able to increase its exports by 50 per cent, above pre-war levels, and for many reasons, not all economic, it will look confidently to British countries overseas to afford markets for British goods. In certain respects the position of New Zealand differs materially from that of the other Dominions. 'The British Government has provided very substantial aid to ensure, as the Prime Minister put it in his address to the Dairy Conference last month, “the protection of the economic position of the Dominion externally.” The other Dominions, especially Canada, have, during the war years, built up their sterling reserves substantially, and they had no need to seek the assistance so generously given to this country. It follows that they will possess a freedom with respect to post-war trade which New Zealand could hardly claim. Indeed the future use which they may make of their London balances is already a matter of discussion, for it may involve a serious drain on sterling exchange. But whatever others may do these trade agreements between the United Kingdom and the New Zealand Governments, the financial assistance given and promised to this country, and the further aid in the extended advances under the Memorandum of Security combine to direct the trend of our overseas trade in the post-war years. In a sense they simplify the position; make the course quite clear. “It was only prudent,” Mr. Goodfellow stated, “to safeguard our only long-term market,” and he indicated that this could best be done by providing Markets for British goods. Developments in the international sphere, such as the operations of the Monetary Fund and the proposed International Bank, may influence the position, and even have a decisive effect on rates of exchange and allied matters, but they should not in any way deflect New Zealand from its basic policy of reciprocal trade with the Mother Country. As the Minister of Finance has shown, that would not run counter to the Atlantic Charter. The prudent way to safeguard “our only long-term market” will be to do everything possible to make that market strong. There is only one way.