ONE-SIDED TRADE

Evening Star, Issue 22069, 1 July 1935, Page 12

ONE-SIDED TRADE

AMERICA AND AUSTRALIA A DIFFICULT PROBLEM Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright WASHINGTON, June 30. (Received July 1, at 12.20 p.ra.) With conferences scheduled for Mr Lyons with President Roosevelt and Mr Cordell Hull and the Assistant Secretary of State (Mr F. Sayre) during his 24 hours’ stay in Washington next week, a careful canvass of the situation shows that the American authorities are not very hopeful of concrete results from the Prime Minister’s visit. It is fairly well understood that Mr Lyons will serve a very polite and friendly, but none the less firm, warning that unless something can be done to increase American consumption of Australian products, redressing the trade balance a little more equitably with the dominion, something will have to be done by Australia to curtail purchases here and increase purchases in European and Asiatic countries by means of special bilateral trade agreements. As it concerns the possibility of an Australia n-American reciprocal trade treaty the position is considered especially difficult. The United States would demand “ unconditional and most favoured nation ” . treatment, which is considered impossible within the framework of the Ottawa Agreements. . ,

It is pointed out that the United States in 1932 was ready to negotiate a general commercial treaty with Australia, which besides providing a trade understanding would have eased the difficulties of Australian businessmen, who at the present time must operate under six months’ visitors’ visas while in the United States.

It is contended that the Commonwealth Government “ shied off ” fi'om the negotiations and the matter fell through. Relative to providing some additional markets for Australian primary goods, State department officials are ready to acknowledge the need and justice of such a request, but frankly admit that, there is little prospect of materially increasing the consumption of Australian commodities in the near future, save in the event of some great shortage, such as the present meat scarcity, when the President might be called upon to issue an executive order temporarily lifting the duty on certain commodities, such as he did with hay and feed a year ago. The existing shortage of butter has helped Australia little, however, for, whereas 22,000,0001 b have been imported during the past three months New Zealand provided 2,000,0001 b, but Australia only 250,0001 b. This was due to the export bounty .which automatically put a compensating tariff increase on Australian butter when brought to the United States.