DISCUSSIONS ON TRADE

Southland Times, Issue 23199, 14 May 1937, Page 15

DISCUSSIONS ON TRADE

GERMANY AND NEW ZEALAND

MR NASH’S VISIT TO BERLIN

(From Our Correspondent) LONDON, April 22. Discussions with leading German officials and industrialists upon trade questions have been held by the New Zealand Minister of Finance and Marketing (the Hon. Walter Nash) in Berlin during the past few days. The Minister left for Moscow on Wednesday morning.

Mr Nash’s first interview on Monday was with the managing director of the German Dyestuffs Industry. Later in the morning the Minister spent an hour with the president of the Reichsbank and Minister for Economic Affairs, Dr Schacht, discussing all aspects of German policy in relation to trade, commerce, and finance.

The remaining members of the delegation spent the morning discussing with representatives of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Board of Trade the mechanism—trading and financial—of Germany’s many trade agreements. The New Zealanders were given full particulars of the necessary administrative procedure.

Members of the New Zealand delegation were the guests at luncheon of Dr Schacht at the Reichsbank. Directors of the Reichsbank and representatives of the main trading Ministries were also present.

Trade discussions were continued in the afternoon.

Mr Nash had a long discussion in the evening with the managing director of the firm which is the largest German buyer of New Zealand wool. The remaining members of the delegation spent several hours in discussion with the diplomatic representative of South Africa in Berlin, the director of the milk marketing system of Berlin, and the general secretary of the International Dairy Congress. Turbine Factory Inspected

On Tuesday, Mr Nash inspected the turbine and electric-motor factory of the Allgemeine Elektricitats-Gessell-schaft, in company with the technical general manager of all the A.E.G. factories. The visitors were shown a number of turbines, transformers and motors that were being assembled for delivery to Japan, Soviet Russia, China, Turkey, Australia, India, South Africa, and South America. The most recent order from New Zealand was for 30 high-tension transformers. The A.E.G. gives employment to a total of 45,000 workers. By an agreement with the General Electric Company of the United States, it keeps out of the North American market for heavy machines. The A.E.G. turbine factory is the oldest in Germany and the largest in Europe. Members of the New Zealand delegation were the guests of the company at luncheon. In proposing the toast of New Zea.land, the general manager said he hoped that the mutual understanding that had been gained as a result of the visit of the New Zealanders would promote not only more extensive trade on either side, but also the cause of world peace. Injustices to Germany

Mr Nash, in reply, said that the British people respected the German people, but they were not in agreement with many aspects of the German Government’s policy. Thinking people, however, recognized that a study of the history of Germany from 1919 to 1933 would show that Germany had suffered some injustices internationally but now Germany had attained the equality for which she had been striving. If the German Government recognized that this equality was there, and did not aim at more than equality, then there were good hopes of world peace. If Germany did not recognize this, then the future outlook was dark. In the afternoon, Mr Nash discussed Germany’s foreign trade in its relation to New Zealand with the Director of the International Section of the I.G.

Farben-Industrie (the German Dyestuffs Corporation). The trade discussions with the German representatives were continued later and reached a stage where fruitful results might be expected. In the evening, before Mr Nash’s depr/ture for Moscow, the New Zealand delegation entertained the representatives of the German Ministries at a dinner at the Hotel Kaiserhof

The delegation left by the Nord Express early on Wednesday morning for Warsaw. Mr Nash was farewelled by Dr Ruter, of the German Foreign Office.