CONTINUOUS GROWTH

Northern Advocate, 19 July 1935, Page 8

CONTINUOUS GROWTH

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

BRITAIN’S BIG RECOVERY. ELOQUENT FIGURES. TARIFF SYSTEM VALUE. [British Official Wireless. 1 (Received 1 p.m.) RUGBY, July 18. In the House of Commons, Mr Walter Runciman, President of the Board of Trade, made a survey of trade and industry in which he reviewed the effects of recent trade agreements and prospects of further industrial recovery. He said ' that the British trade figures showed year after year and month after month a continuous growth. There was still a long way to go to reach the figures of 1929, but he approached the coming year in a spirit of restrained optimism. United Kingdom exports for the first half of this year reached £206,000,000, against £189,000,000 for the first sjx months of last year, and taking articles wholly or mainly manufactured the increase was not only marked, but healthy.

The first six months of this year showed Exports in this class of £ 160,000,0(00 against £150,000,000 in the same period of last year. Very substantial increases have been recorded in the export of machinery and vehicles grouped, iron and steel, and even, in spite of severe depression in Lancashire, in cotton yarns and manufactures.

Among the manufactured goods the most important successes were recorded in the machinery classes-, covering every kind of machine. Turning to the home trade Mr Runciman recalled that a year ago he expressed the fear that it was almost reaching saturation point. He was glad to say he had been unduly depressed in making that statement, for the home trade had gone on steadily expanding throughout the whole year.

The value of retail sales last year was actually 3 per cent higher than in 1933. This expansion had increased vat the same rate during the current year, and sales in the first five months were very nearly. 4g per cent higher than for the corresponding period of 1934. Speaking of the effects of the tariff system on employment, Mr Runciman declared that the stimulus given by tariffs accounted to a large extent for the prosperity of Britain’s internal trade, and a return in the same direction in the foreign market as well.

Tariffs not only provided employment at home, but had also provided £20,000,000 for the Exchequer. The direct effect of the Ottawa agreement had come up to expectationsand the agreement had tended to stimulate Empire trade. Seventeen foreign trade agreements had been signed, and ,in 1934 British overseas trade increased about 5 per cent. With British countries the rise had been about 12 per cent, and in the case of foreign countries with which agreements were made the rise was 33 per cent.