WORLD TRADE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 30 August 1945, Page 3

WORLD TRADE

BIG STRUGGLE VISUALISED BRITAIN AND UNITED STATES (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) Wellington August 29. Britain and the United States were about to become* involved in a titanic struggle for world trade, said Mr F. W. Doidge (National Tauranga) in his Budget speech in the House of Representatives and he urged that New Zealand, which would be vlrtdlly involved should do everything possible to assist Britain. Britain has lost her overseas investments and had to double her overseas trade, said Mr Doidge. America had 13,000,000 unemployed before the wai and to avoid throwing 13,000,000 people on the economic scrap heap the United States had to treble her pre-war trade. For both countries to succeed in such a colossal task seemed almost impossible. The economic position of Britain had never been so serious. "Lord Keynes has told us that Britain must not only recapture her pi'ovvar export trade but must double it" added Mr Doidge. “If she does not double it Britain is sunk. If Britain sink?; we sink too. Therefore we have to deal sympathetically with what that means to the new Labour Government. The Government faces demands from the trade unions for shorter hours and higher pay. How, then, is Britain to. achieve her goal, particularly when competing with the United States which is equally determined to treble her pre-war trade. ‘‘The dice sgems loaded against Britain and wc have to exert ourselves to aid Britain more than at any time in our history.’ Mr Doidge asked how the placing of orders by New Zealand with the United States for hydro-electric machinery was going to help the working people of Britain. With Britain facing a life and death struggle it was New Zealand’s duty to give such work to the Mother Country. Britain had been generous to New Zealand when it came to the lump sum payments, and the Dominion should be equally generous to Britain. America had taken little from the rest of the world and it was her policy to take less in future. If the outside world were to take more from the United States and could not pay with goods it was clear payment could bo made only with dollars. That was what New Zealand was doing. How was the outside world to get the dollars. Bretton Woods provided the answer. America was prepared to lend gold through the international bank with which outside countries could buy American goods. He himself did not like the Bretton Woods proposals as he felt they were damaging to Britain. He was anxious for the debate on the Bretton Woods proposals to be taken. PRICE RING BROKEN Mr. T. H. McCombs (Government Lyttelton) said that Mr Doidge had referred to orders placed recently for electrical equipment, The order had been split among the United States, Canada and Britain. Dr Hugh Dalton, who was president of the Board of Trade, had revealed the inside story of the transaction and he had shown that he had succeeded in breaking down British price rings. He said New Zealand had desired to place an order to the extent of £1,500,000. A group of British manufacturers had quoted identical prices— obviously pre-arranged—and he had approached the New Zealand Minister of Supply to request his Government to hold up the tenders for a fortnight while he inquired into the matter. The British manufacturers were told by Dr Dalton that they were bringing to ruin British export trade and that they must revise their prices and each put in a separate tender. He also told them that the prices must be reduced. The prices were reduced With the result that Britain was able to secure orders for £500,000 which otherwise would have been lost owing to the action of the British private enterprise ring- . , Mr McCombs said that in dealing with England there must be honest business methods and New Zealand was anxious to spend every penny possible to assist the British export trade.