TREATY ABROGATION

Grey River Argus, 8 September 1939, Page 11

TREATY ABROGATION

SHOCK TO JAPAN. AMERICA’S ACTION. NEW YORK, August 15. The abrogation by the United States of the commercial treaty with Japan, signed in 1911, is believed to be the forerunner of further American action against Japan’s drive for Asiati cdomination. Aimed at Japan’s most vulnerable point, her foreign policy, it is expected to be followed, in January next, by Congressional legislation placing an embargo on the export of war materials to Japan. The abrogation of the treaty has been favourably received by the two parties in Congress, and throughout the nation. The comment has been made generally that, although there might be division of opinion in regard to American foreign policy across the Atlantic, there is full approval of it across the pacilc. There is evidence that the shock to Japan has been felt in Berlin and Rome, whose Axis partner in the Far East may, in the near future, be regarded as less dependable than was anticipated when Japan was gathered into the fold. America’s export trade with Japan was valued, last year, at 240,000,001' dollars. Of the basic materials which Japan buys almost entirely from the United States steel scrap and oil are the most important. Of the former, 800,000 tons were exported for the first five months of this year. Almost all of Japan’s aviation gasoline continues to come from the United States. The American steel industry favours an embargo against Japan, winch is likely to go into early next The volume of American silk imports from Japan has fallen below last year’s figures. Some anxiety has been expressed in silk manufacturing circles where it was hoped that any embargo would not affect imports from Japan. In other circles, however, it is proposed to close the door on Japan’s silk, which is providing her with over 60 per cent, of her dollai trade balances. . Japan has tie d up huge sums in instalment purchase of Amenmn machinery. The better part of her efficient high-power armament producing equipment was obtained here. . The machinery she is now ordering is designed to supplement what she has m stalled: the precise machine-tool, steel fabrication, and auto-manufacturing specifications required t o dovetail with her latest plants cannot be obtained eievvhere. She would have to scrap most of her American plant, and rebuild on a British or German engineering basis. But the engineering capacities of England an d Germany are overloaded with domestic armam cotton grower remains the chief Western casualty from Japan’s war on China. Tne change in Japanese buying from commercial to arms staples has reduced her five months’ imports of American cotton this year to 360,000 bales, compared with 471,000 bales m the corresnonding period of last year, and bajes in the 1937 period.