BRITAIN INTRODUCES LICENCES FOR RAW WOOL EXPORTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 September 1949, Page 5

BRITAIN INTRODUCES LICENCES FOR RAW WOOL EXPORTS

LONDON, September-I.—The British Government has decided to introduce export licences for raw wool shipped from Britain, in an attempt to stop a serious leak in the sterling area’s dollar reserves. It is hoped that the method to be adopted will interfere as little as possible with international trade. Sources close to the Yorkshire woollen trade said that some traders did not believe that the leak from Britain was sufficient to warrant what was regarded as a retrograde step in international trade. Other sources took the view that export licensing offered no real solution to the problem, which was essentially one of international currencies. The Board of Trade today announced that all remaining controls on woollen textiles would be lifted on October 31. The announcement said that the President of the Board of Trade (Mr J. H. Wilson) had received a satisfactory assurance that exports, particularly to North America, would continue to be pressed and would be given high priority by the trade. With the removal of the remaining controls on the wool textiles industry the Wool Control c-'-t up O n the outbreak of war in i»o9 will be wound up.