THE I.T.O.

Evening Star, Issue 25730, 1 March 1946, Page 4

THE 1.T.0.

It appears that the example provided by the International Labour Organisation is to be followed in the world of trade. If the forthcoming conference to consider the basic proposals already agreed on by Britain and America is successful, there will come into being the International Trade Organisation. It seems that there will also be coined new word. " ITO," for such is the present habit of -description for the many institutions which have arisen in recent years. Some of them ■will no doubt be soon forgotten, but the ITO will surely take its place with UNO in the speecli of those who frequently have to refer to the international machinery which they represent. Discussion on the trade proposals has been concerned for the most part with the vexed question of whether the American tariff would be lowered substantially enough in return for a departure from the principle of Imperial preference, and the abandonment of reciprocity arrangements by Great Britain. It has been pointed out by critics of the proposals that, as Britain 'had to abandon Free Trade through the difficulties that pressed on her in the post-war world and the great depression, she needs the bargaining strength which she obtained from that departure in order to surmount her present difficulties. She is likely still to be the world's greatest imported, at any rate for some time, and unless she can strike satisfactory bargains in a world which is still much given to bargaining, it will be exceedingly difficult to expand exports to anything like the extent necessary to meet her obligations and to supply her people with food and raw materials. Much will therefore depend on whether the coming conference and the machinery which it is proposed to set up will be able to lay the basis of an expanded trade for the world as a whole, and also on whether the nations in conference can agree to co-operate in a much fuller measure than they have been willing to do in the past. However, in this case, as well as in that of the other international organisations at present in process of formation, there is the long view to take, as well as the difficulties and problems of the short run. The proposals from Washington, which are available here in the publication of the Department of External Affairs of December last, favour the establishment of three permanent commissions as the main parts of ITO's machinery. There will be a

| commission for commercial policy, an- [ other for business practices, and a third to be known as the commodity commission. They would be responsible to the Executive Board of the Trade Organisation. The first of these would deal with the vexed questions already mentioned, and also others, such as the development of standard practices in the determination of duties and Customs nomenclature. It is possible that the second commission may have a restraining effect on the spread and degree of power of international cartels and other monopoly organisations. The nrd body would consider such matters as the organisation of buffer stocks of food and essential raw materials, the problem of a world surplus of a particular commodity; and would review the operation of international commodity agreements, such as those we were familiar with before the war in the case of tea, rubber, sugar, and the rest. The International Labour Organisation has won world-wide respect and has "functioned through the war itself. While it is hardly possible to exaggerate the difficulties of the short-run efforts to re-establish world trade, the existence of permanent bodies charged with functions such as these should constitute another step forward in a field in which it is vital that real international organisation should replace anarchy.