AMERICA TAKING ACTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26042, 4 January 1946, Page 4

AMERICA TAKING ACTION

attempt to copy empire SCHEME (N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent) (Rec. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON, Jan. 3. The United States is apparently attempting to copy the British Commonwealth joint wool scheme in an effort to protect the interests of its producers. A seven-point plan will soon be submitted to Congress resembling the shape of the joint organisation formed by Britain, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand for the disposal of the Commonwealth surplus, together with new clips. , . Emerging from the voluminous evidence submitted to the special Senate Wool Marketing Committee during its fortnight’s session in Washington, is the draft of a Bill which-will be submitted to Congress shortly. Its main proposals, now being closely studied m Britain, are 1. The Secretary for Agriculture is to establish a comparable price for wool. _ 2. A “Sloor” is to be set up, valid for five years, prohibiting the commercial sale of wool at prices lower than the comparable price. 3. A commodity credit corporation (a United States Government agency, which, like the British Wool Purchasing Commission,, was the sole purchaser of domestic wool) would be empowered to purchase all unsold wool at the end of the season at “ sloor ” prices. 4. Import quotas would be established each year limiting the amofint of foreign wool permitted into the United States to such quantities as were necessary to supplement the domestic clip in meeting actual manufacturing needs. 5. All imported wool to be purchased by the Commodity Credit Corporation for resale to processors. 6. A quota would be established on the amount of wool textiles allowed into the United States, based on the average yearly imports of the 1936-39 period. 7. All imported wool would be tested for shrinkage and labelled by the Federal Government.

If these proposals are adopted their effects will be especially felt both by the wool-producing dominions and by Britain’s manufacturing trade. Imports into the United States from the dominions, if the Bill becomes law, will be kept to a minimum in ofder to stimulate the consumption of domestic wool. It is clear that an attempt is being made to control the marketing of the British surplus for American buyers and keep this at a level which will force United States manufacturers to buy the domestic' clip.