U.S. MACHINE TOOLS

Grey River Argus, 21 March 1945, Page 7

U.S. MACHINE TOOLS

AUSTRALIA'S OFFER TO PURCHASE. . CANBERRA, March 19. Australia has offered the United States six million six hundred thousand dollars (about two million pounds) for all of the American Lend-Lease machine tools that are now in the Commonwealth. The book value of these tools is more than thirty million dollars (about nine million three hundred thousand pounds). The reason for the! decision is that the American Administration has prohibited the use of American Lend-Lease machine tools for Australian Lancaster 'planes and Merlin engines..- -programme; Neitlrer'- -programpfe'has yet received the approval of. General MacArthur or of the US’ Foreign Economic Administration) which' controls Lend-Lease inAmerica. ,• ’ The two million pounds otter was. made whefi Senator Keane was recently in America. Since then United*.’Kingdom has .completed' an ‘ 'the' United States Government to purchase all of the [ American machine tools in Britain. Many of the Australian industries are completely dependent upon these machine tools, which are /-property, under the terms oi tne Lend-Lease. The United States officials are at present not inclined to accept Australia’s offer.