BRITISH INDUSTRIES

Evening Star, Issue 23093, 20 October 1938, Page 16

BRITISH INDUSTRIES

DECLINE IN EXPORT TRADE VARIOUS REMEDIES SUGGESTED BIG UNITED EFFORT URGED (British Official Wireless.) Press Association— By I'elegrapb—Oopyrignt RUGBY, October 19. (Received October 20, at 12.30 p.m.) Mr R. S. Hudson (Secretary for the Department of Overseas Trade), speaking at Sheffield, said unfortunately the upward trend in British exports had ceased towards the end of 1937, and in the first half of 1938 there had been a drop of over 10 per cent. “ Every possible’method of improving our competitive position should be explored/’ he said. “I am convinced that among these one of the most important is to devise effective machinery to enable industries in England, to speak on equal terms with competing industries abroad.” He went on to refer to the high standard of living and unrivalled social services in Britain, and said that to maintain both those standards and its competitive position abroad Britain must clearly show a determination equal to that of other countries and match their progress with advances in its own efficiency of production and organisations for export. This called for a united effort, both from the employers and employed, and not merely from those industries engaged in export trade, but also from industries fortunate enough to be engaged in supplying a protected home market. The points touched on by Mr Hudson were also discussed at a special meeting called in London by, the Association of the British Chambers of Commerce to consider the export trade. Sir GraTille Gibson expressed the view that a cheap money policy lost its driving power as far as export trade was concerned. The problem was not producing, but selling and he asked if the oversea selling organisations of British industry were sufficiently skilfuL He mentioned the possibility hinted at by Mr Hudson that they ought to consider related trades selling for export through some central organisations, or even amalgamation of firms exporting with similar goods in similar markets. Sir Cecil Weir condemned quotas and complained of prohibitively high tariffs and foreign export bounties, but a representative of the coal trade defended the quota system, without which, he argued, it would be impossible for British coal exports to compete in for-, eign markets against successful coal exports from other-countries. Mr D. Hamilton, of Bradford, criticised the Ottawa agreements and the policy embodied, in them, from which ]he dated the increase in the world economic and political difficulties, maintaining that the reversal of that policy would be the most effective answer to Germany’s coal trade.

Sir Alan Anderson thought the solution for the difficulties of the export trades and the shipping industry lay in the implementation of the Van Zeeland report. M. Van Zeeland’s remedy was appeasement, political and economic, and by far the most important was political. They had now the right man in Mr Chamberlain to deal with that problem/; and he .hoped that all the chambers of commerce would prge him forward on the road.to peace. In adjourning the conference until to-morrow, Sir Graville Gibson said a halt must be called to expenditure on, social services and education, and suggested lengthening working hours.