TRADE AGREEMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 109, 11 May 1933, Page 11

TRADE AGREEMENTS

DEFENCE BY RUNCDIAN

DENMARK AND ARGENTINA

(British Official Wireless.) (Received May IZ, 11.30 a.m.) BUGBY, May 10. Tho trado agreements recently signed with Argentina and Denmark were discussed in the House of Commons. The president of the Board or Trade (Mr. Walter Runciman) said that tho agreements were with countries which had been in close commercial alliance for a very long time. In Argentina nearly all tho great developments of docks,.harbours, railways, and roads bad been done out of facilities provided by Britain. Tho total amount invested in providing Argentina with railways was estimated. at over £500,000,000, thero being no investment with outside countries comparable with this within the experience of modem industry. ; REDRESSING* BALANCE. In tho caso of Denmark a very large amount: of industrial prosperity had depended not so much on British enterprise as upon Danish enterprise in British markets. Tho balance of trade had for the last twenty years been proponderatingly on the sidp of Denmark. In 1930 the imports from Denmark exceodod the exports to Denmark five times. Following the - exhibition ■of British goods in Copenhagen tho ratio was reduced in 1932 to four to one, but that did not go far enough. The Danes had now undertaken to increase their purchase of coal to nearer tho 1923-24 lovel, raising the percentage of British coal imported by Denmark from 58 per cent, of the total to 80 per cent., which represented an increaso of 1,350,000 tons. The Danish representatives undertook that coke purchases should not fall bolow tho rocont level, and regarding iron and steel as an outstanding feature of increased trade ho cited an order for tho Storstrom Bridge, and mentioned the general understanding that for Government and municipal purposes tho first offer of orders of iron and steel should bo made, to Unitod Kingdom firms, coupled in the case of tho Government with a price preference of 10 per cent. On the other side Britain had given an undertaking regarding Banish bacon and bam. The agreement achieved something in the way of security for the1 future. ARGENTINA DIFFERENT. An entirely different set of problems presented themselves, in regard to Argentina, whore, unlike Denmark, tho tariffs were high and attempts had been made to secure a reduction in the duties imposed under their tariff. Under tho financial section of the Argentina agreement there had been sent hero about £1,250,000 to liquify small transactions. Beyond that total the amount still duo would be liquified through the process of bonds issued on the security' of the Argentina Government to be placed in the hands of representative authorities here, and used by them for the provision of cash in sterling in the place of frozen paper. This meant a liquify, ing of about $11,000,000. Having once started this process of liquifying cash which had been frozen under the exchange restriction, the£ hoped the ex-

ample would be followed elsowhere, and everything would bo done on our part to facilitate similar transactions. Regarding a possible reduction of tariffs tho representatives of Argentina had 'undertaken that as regarded goods of which a substantial proportion of tho imports into Argentina was derived from United Kingdom and in respect of which proposals had been submitted to them for a reduction of Customs duties, to revert in general to the rates of duty and valuation of duty of such goods in force in 1930. ' Discussions were to be continued in Argentina. He pointed out as a remarkable fact that no less than 99 per cent, of the chilled beef exported front Argentina came to Britain. They had to bear in mind in dealing with Argon--1 tina wheat that two other markets, the [Home and Dominions markets, were of primary concern to us. The Government hoped by these agreements they had done something to turn tho tide, and that they would how tend in the direction of a steadier price levol.