Argentine And Italy Sign Trade Treaty

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 October 1947, Page 5

Argentine And Italy Sign Trade Treaty

Rec. 2 p.m.) BUENOS AIRES, October 13

Italy and Argentina signed a financial and trade treaty today, providing Italy with a loan of 87,500,000 United States dollars and credits of a similar amount over three years, also one-sixth of the grain Italy needs for five years and one-third of Italy’s import requirements. The treaty was signed in President Peron’s presence. Mr Miguel Miranda, chairman of Argentina’s National Economic Council, said the treaty was part of President Peron’s planned economic policy, which was essentially the same as the Marshall Plan with the difference that the former was much older. Mr Miranda declared: “If the Marshall Plan is delayed, I believe it will be too late and, if it is not speeded up, it will miss the bus.”

Reliable sources said that Argentina’s annual exports to Italy over five years would include 4Q0,000 tons of wheat, 150,000 tons of barley, 70,000 tons of rye, 100,000 tons of corn. The agreement also provides for the annual shipment of 12,000 tons of beef, 500 tons of lard and unspecified quantities of butter, eggs, canned meat, wool, tallow, cowhides, and caffeine.

_ Italy in return will send ships, trucks, locomotives, tractors, automobiles, bicycles, machinery, chemicals are textiles.