TRADE TREATIES

Southland Times, Issue 22013, 12 May 1933, Page 7

TRADE TREATIES

DANISH AND ARGENTINE HOUSE OF COMMONS DISCUSSION MR AMERY’S CRITICISM (British Official Wireless.) Rugby, May 10. The Danish and Argentine trade agreements were discussed in the House of Commons. The President of the Board of Trade, Mr Walter Runciman, said the agreements were with countries which had been in close commercial alliance with Britain for a very long time. In the Argentine nearly all the great developments, docks, harbours, railways and roads, had been effected out of facilities provided by Britain. The total amount invested in providing the Argentine railways was estimated at over £500,000,000, there being no investment with outside countries comparable with this within the experience of modern industry. In the case of Denmark a large amount of the industrial prosperity had depended not so much on British enterprise as upon Danish enterprise in British markets. The balance of trade had for the last 20 years been preponderatingly on the side of Denmark. In 1930 the imports from Denmark exceeded the exports to Denmark by five times. Following the exhibition of British goods in Copenhagen the ratio was reduced in 1932 to four to one, but that did not go far enough. As an outstanding feature of increased trade as a result of the agreement, he cited the order for the Storstrom bridge and mentioned a general understanding that for Government and municipal purposes the first offer of orders of iron and steel should be made to United Kingdom firms, coupled in the case of the Government with a price preference of 10 per cent. On the other side Britain had given an undertaking regarding Danish bacon and ham. The agreement had achieved something in the way of security for ihe future. Financial Aspects. An entirely different set of problems presented themselves in regard to Argentina where unlike Denmark the tariffs were high and attempts had been made to secure a reduction in the duties, said Mr Runciman. Under the financial section of the Argentine agreement there had been sent here about £1,250,000 to liquify small transactions. Beyond that the total amount still due would be liquified through a process of bonds issued on the security of the Argentine Government to be placed in the hands of representative authorities here and used by them for the provision of cash in sterling in place of frozen paper. This meant liquifying about £11,000,000. Having once started this process of liquifying cash which had been frozen under the exchange restriction, they hoped the example would be followed elsewhere. Everything would be done on Britain s part to facilitate similar transactions. The representatives of Argentina had undertaken as regards goods of which a substantial proportion of imports into Argentina was derived from the United Kingdom, and in respect of which proposals had been submitted to them for a reduction of the Customs duties, to revert in general to the rates of duty and valuation of duty of such goods in force in 1930. . The discussions were to be continued in Argentina. He pointed out as a remarkable fact that no less than 99 per cent, of chilled beef exported from Argentina came to Britain. They had to bear in mind in dealing with Argentine wheat that two other markets, the home and dominions markets, were of primary concern to us and the Government hoped by these agreements that it had done something to turn the tide and that they would now tend in the direction of a steadier price level. Ottawa Spirit Contradicted. Mr L. C. Amery said that both the Danish and Argentine agreements contradicted the whole spirit of the Ottawa agreements and they barred in many directions any expansion of Imperial preference. We were on the verge or solving the problem of sending . the dominions’ chilled beef to Britain. Rhodesia was making hopeful experiments in that direction, and he had reason to believe that Australian chilled beef could be brought over in good condition, yet the Argentine agreement would prevent the development of this trade. Denmark had got a minimum quota of our total butter imports compared with a serious diminution of dominion supplies. Valuable as the Danish trade was it must be remembered that New Zealand buttei represented £3,000,090 in freights alone and the New Zealand shipping trade represented an actual value of £25,000,000. The Minister of Agriculture, Major W. E. Elliot, replying, said that when Britain entered the World Economic Conference she would defend her actions taken to regulate supplies by means of the quota system. He was certain the conference would approve of planning in preference to an anarchic scramble. Denmark s butter quota maintained the principle of the home producer first, the dominion producer second and the foreign third. Neither agreement showed antagonism to increasing dominion imports, but the maiket could not stand the now being hurled at it. There were at present unrestricted imports of dominion butter and cheese, consequently the butter price was falling rapidly. The stocks of home cheese were so heavy that it was impossible to say whether the situation could be saved. It was impeiative to seek a higher price even by a restriction of imports or, if necessaiy, by a restriction of production. The Government’s long range policy disclosed in the Agricultural Marketing Bill and subsequent measures was sound. He believed other countries would ultimately have to follow the same line. He denied every one of Mr Amery’s charges about the spirit of Ottawa. Milk Products. Major Elliot announced that if the agreements were sanctioned by the Government he would . immediately consult the representatives of . the countries supplying milk products to Britain with a view to arranging a restriction of supplies. The Ottawa agreements provided that the dominions should agree as to access to this market. He could only deal with them by agreement and consultation. Sir Herbert Samuel said Major Elliot seemed to advocate a policy of general regulation of agricultural products in this and every other country.. With such a policy the Government might as well withdraw from the World Conference, for on those lines its labours were bound to be futile. There was no division on the trade agreements, which were discussed under an adjournment motion. This was withdrawn.