The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1948. RAW MATERIALS BASIS OF U.S. AID

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22818, 13 December 1948, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1948. RAW MATERIALS BASIS OF U.S. AID

J-JEIIIND frequently published news items from abroad oi: largescale United States trade and economic and military assistance to foreign countries is a story of an intensive, constant quest for raw materials. Formerly perhaps the most self-sufficient nation in the world, the United States today is one of the greatest importers of raw materials. The reason for this is that during the Second World War she drew upon her own supplies, especially oil, at an alarming rate until in some eases they are below present requirements. The problem has been further accentuated by the shipment of enormous quantities of goods to Britain, Europe and the hai East under recovery programmes. For .1 ( J4S-19 alone aid pledged will amount to Cl .b07.fi77.b57.

Coupled with this are normal trade requirements and the accumulation of strategic materials. In the field of trade the l nitod Stales objectives are "large exports of agricultural produce and mass-produced goods, large imports of basic matt rials, and an indciinite. expansion of the variety of demand tor consumer goods. It is held that abundant trade is essential for the economic health of the United States. “Strategic and Critical” Needs

T)io National Military Establishment in Washington listed on August 2G for the first time 28 “strategic ami critical” materials regarded as essential for defence purposes and of which reserves would be made. These were asbestos, bauxite, beryl, bismuth, eadium, castor oil. chromite, coconut oil, columbite, copper, cordage fibres, industrial diamonds, graphit' 1 , lead, manganese, mica, monaziie. nickel, palm oil, pepper, quinoline, rubber, shellac, talc, tin, tungsten, vanadium and zinc. Some of these arc required in large quantities by dune, lift!). The problem of where these arc to be obtained is partly solved by conditions attaching to the Marshall Aid Plan. In return for assistance Britain and her colonies have justly pledged themselves to supply materials and Washington, with true American hustle, has lost no time with preliminary discussions. Exactly what commodities the United States seeks'most urgently have not; been disclosed publicly. Britain has been asked for a schedule ot the least quantities she can supply of materials in which the United States is or may become deficient

American industry is entitled to expect a fair share of British resources either in percentages of production or in absolute quantities, but at the same time it must be treated on a par with British corporations if it wants to join in development. "Whitehall has agreed to produce, if the Americans want them, mutually agreeable plans to raise, output and to arrange for an agreed percentage of the larger output, once obtained, to be delivered to the United States on a long-term basis. Finance can be drawn from the Bank of England into which the sterling equivalent of Marshall dollars is paid. Not Onerous In Themselves

These terras are considered in Britain to be not unduly onerous. Much will turn on the way in which they are interpreted. For instance, a request to raise the output of sisal should worry no one. The agreement does not state how long Britain's obligations to supply or the United States’ desire to purchase will last, but it is certainly not intended to upset normal trade. Some questions, however, must be asked. If one of Britain’s colonies increases production to meet American needs, what will happen when that demand is met? Expanded with finance from the Bank of England special fund, will Whitehall compete with private enterprise in an ever-widening field of mineral and agricultural development? Who will be obliged to reduce production in the event of over-supply ? They are difficult questions to answer but they present dangers in the rapid development of colonial industries now taking place. At the same time if Britain should fail the United States in something upon which she sets great store, much-needed goodwill will be lost, perhaps irretrievably.