CANADA’S LOSS BY DEVALUATION OF STERLING

Grey River Argus, 27 September 1949, Page 5

CANADA’S LOSS BY DEVALUATION OF STERLING

OTTAWA, September 24

The Canadian woollen industry would be badly hit, and the price of United States petrol in Canada would probably rise as a result of sterling and the Canadian dollar devaluation, the Minister of Trade (Mr. C. D. Howe) said. Canada’s trade deficit with the United States was growing worse, he said. Canada sold to the United States 117,000,000 dollars’ worth of goods in August, an increase of 2,000,000 dollars on the figures for the same month in 1948. Imports, however amounted to 160,300,000 dollars, an increase of 24,000,000 dollars. This left a deficit in August of 43,300,000 dollars, compared with 2,000,000 dollars a year ago. Mr. Howel said that the United Kingdom was buying in Canada only when she was not buying in the soft sterling areas. There was no certainty that Canada could maintain her export market of 600,000,000 dollars a year in the United Kingdom. By 1952, when Marshall Aid expired, Canada might have to balance her trade with Britain instead of operating on a favourable margin of about 300,000,000 dollars a year, he said.

Canada was thinking of cutting down imports from the United States, find he was discussing with other officials the need for reviewing import controls.