IMPORTS POLICY

Evening Star, Issue 23726, 6 November 1940, Page 3

IMPORTS POLICY

LOCAL INTERESTS MUST GIVE WAY EMPIRE NEEDS FIRST A vexed question alluded to to-day by Mr W. S. Mac Gibbon in his presidential address to the Conference of the Associated Chambers of Commerce was import policy. “ Let me mention,” he said, “ Tho advocacy by some importers of the raising of credits by New Zealand in Britain for the purpose of buying greater quantities of British goods for importation into New Zealand—this arising from the undoubted stringency of the import restrictions in this country, as well as a desire to assist Britain in her export drive. Certain considerations have to be taken into account here, namely: (1) The British Government wants New Zealand, by specific request, to reduce her importations of British goods to tho minimum essentials; (2) Britain is already helping New Zealand financially in this country’s war effort; (3) if New Zealand were to pay for the whole of her military establishment overseas (which she is not doing), there would he less sterling funds than ever for the importation of goods to this country; (4) Britain preferred the repayment of maturing New Zealand local body debts this year to their refinancing, thus correspondingly reducing our ability to buy her goods; and (o) —most striking of all—the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sir Kingsley Wood), in his July Budget, referred to the possibility of Britain borrowing on short-term from the Dominions to help meet the terrific cost of the war, which is rapidly dissipating Britain’s liquid capital assets. In face of such considerations as these, it seems to me that tho interests of those at this end must necessarily give way in face of the greater need. “ The fact is that we are a part of the Empire, linked with Britain by ties of kinship, of commerce, and finance, and, in particular, by common interests. The defeat of Britain would mean disaster for New Zealand. On this point I need not dwell. For good or ill, we are inevitably bound with tho Mother Country and the rest of the Empire in the present struggh;. We must, for our own sake, do all’we can to help. Already we are sending men and goods. More men will he sent, and those of us who do not go, carry the responsibility of supporting and equipping them, ofi maintaining the ideals, the principles, and the national organisation for which they arc fighting, and of contributing, in addition, what we can to the cause_ we alj support. What we can contribute, as commercial people, is goods—goods produced in New Zealand and sent overseas, not wholly in exchange for those we import and consume, but something more than this. We might aim to provide a surplus which would be lent to Britain to assist her in the present crisis.

“ We can make this contribution, if we will, quite simply, by exporting more and importing less, and by leaving the receipts for our excess of exports in the form of sterling exchange in London. From sterling funds built up in this way, we might pay our war expenses overseas, rather than borrow them from Britain, and if we could do this and still accumulate funds, we would strengthen our own monetary position and reserves, and, by lending these funds on the short-loan market in London, we would increase London’s liquid assets and ease the financial burden a little for the Mother Country.”