MINISTERS’ COUNCIL

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 September 1945, Page 5

MINISTERS’ COUNCIL

ARRANGING PROCEDURE GREAT EXPECTATIONS LONDON, September 12.’ The first meeting of the Big Five Council of Foreign Ministers was held yesterday afternoon in the ballroom at Lancaster House, near Saint James’ Palace. It mainly was devoted to arranging procedure for the next fortnight, in which the Foreign Ministers will meet almost daily. Mr Bevin presided, with M. Bidault (France) on his right, and M. Molotov (Russia) on his left. Sir Ronald Campbell has been appointed Mr Bevin’s deputy. The Council will get down to business to-day. After yesterday’s meeting the British Foreign Office issued a statement as follows: The proceedings will be conducted in English, Russian and French. The documents of major importance will be circulated in these languages, and also in Chinese. The Council’s terms of reference are: “To continue necessary preparatory work for peace settlements, gmd to consider other matters which may, from time to time, be referred to the Council by agreement of the Governments who are members of the Council. It had been agreed to proceed, firstly, with questions referred to the Cduncil by the Berlin Conference. The agenda is left open so that other items may be added, if desired, as the meetings of the Council proceed. It has been agreed that at the subsequent meetings each Foreign Secretary will preside in rotation. “The Times’s” diplomatic correspondent stated: The world will expect much from the .five Foreign Ministers. It is a good omen that they met and settled down to business with a minimum of pomp and ceremony, and a refreshing absence of oratorical preliminaries. It is, however, abundantly evident that for Western and Eastern Europe definitions may now be required, because there is a lack of precision. This was explicable, though it was hardly justifiable, while a bitter war was being waged. It is highly undesirable to-day that there should be such lack of precision.

TRADE ORGANISATION. (Rec. 11.40 a.m.) NEW YORK, September 12. The United States Government has prepared a confidential document proposing that the United Nations create a permanent internaitonal trade organisation to regulate and liberalise future business, trade, and commercial practices throughout the world, says the “New York Post’s” correspondent. The organisation’s objectives would be to eliminate trade discriminations, reduce tariff barriers, outlaw restrictive business practices and generally liberalise world commercial arrangements to an unprecedented degree. The scheme will undoubtedly come in for an intensive study during the current Anglo-American talks, since the organisation’s basic purposes would openly conflict with the traditional British trade practices, especially within the Empire. The British answer is expected to be that if Britain gets generous financial assistance from the United States, we can go along with the proposed objectives and give some of our protective trade practices. Otherwise we must look out for ourselves, and, therefore, could not approve of world organisations which would regulate our trade policies.