ECONOMIC REPRISALS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20186, 2 March 1940, Page 10

ECONOMIC REPRISALS

U.S. ACTION ADVOCATED DEALINGS BY ALLIES DEPRECIATED CURRENCY (Reed. March 2, 9 a.m.) NEW YORK, Feb. 29. The Washington correspondent of the New York Times says that criticism of the Administration for its failure to apply economic reprisals against England, France and Canada in retaliation for currency depreciation and the bilateral barter trade agreements was voiced on the floor of the Senate and also at the Senate Finance Committee hearing on a resolution to extend the Trade Agreements Act. Senator Reynolds assailed the Agriculture and State Departments for their “policy of secrecy” regarding the plans for protecting American trade interests abroad. He said the British agreement to purchase Turkish instead of American tobacco was understandable in view of the war, but he feared it would last long after the war. “Britain is spending money and in time will teach millions to smoke Turkish cigarettes,” he declared. “Although she has agreed to barter tin and rubber for 600,000 bales of cotton, none lias moved so far, I understand.” In response to the allegations of witnesses at the Senate Finance Committee’s hearing, a letter from the Secretary of State, Mr. Cordell Hull, was read denying that depreciated foreign currency had decreased American exports and increased imports. So far ,Mr. Hull asserted, the exports showed a greater increase than the imports.