LETTER FROM BRITAIN

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 77, Issue 6974, 4 October 1948, Page 3

LETTER FROM BRITAIN

CLOSING THE TRADE GAP ■ UNREQUITED EXPORTS [By Edward Hodgkin, Exclusive To The Courier] Britain’s figures for international trade are published each month, and are read by the ordinary citizen with mixed feelings. In the last few months it has been cheering to notice the increasing success of the export drive, although it has at the same time been disappointing to see how many of its good effects are nullified by the rising price of essential imports. Even so, we in Britain have managed to knock down the adverse balance of payments from the figure of £675 million, to which it rose in 1947, to about half that figure—the estimated deficit for 1948 will be around £350 million. This “narrowing of the gap)” has, in the first place, been the result of harder work, and only to a secondary extent the result of cutting imports. The volume of Britain’s exports is now almost onethird larger than it was before World War 11, while the volume of imports is about one-fifth smaller., Sometimes—because of all the talk about the Marshall Plan, because of the tobacco shortage, and so on—we tend to think of this country’s trade problem as being exclusively one which can be stated in terms of sterling and dollars. In the first half of 1948 less than one-tenth of our imports came from the United States, and a little over one-tenth from Canada and Newfoundland, while the value of our imports from the countries of Western Europe was equal to that from these two dollar sources put together, aud well over a third of all our imports came from countries in the sterling area. Of course it is true that our worst headache is how to achieve a propel’ balance of trade with the dollar area before Marshall Aid comes to end, but at the same time our exporters have got to keep their eyes fixed on world markets, particularly in Europe, for the bulk of our trade has always been—and must always be—with our nearer neighbours. Unrequited Exports

The Marshall Plan is based on a realisation of the need for healthy trade relations between the countries of Europe, as much as on the need for sound trading between Europe and the Western Hemisphere, and in this connection it is worth remembering that, although Britain stands to benefit more than any other countryunder the Marshall Plan, she is also committed to contribute more than any other country to the common European pool. This year we are pledged to contribute million worth of supplies to other European countries. These will be what is known as “unrequited exports”— which means that we are sending them to the countries which urgently need them for recovery, even though the terms of repayment are not directly advantageous to us, and even though we could have made much more profitable use of them by selling them for dollars. All things considered, Europe as ''veil as Britain has reason to be glad that, in the first six months of this year, the volume of Britain’s exports topped the target set them in the Economic Survey published by the Government in March.

Our imports to-day are, as far as possible, confined to essential goods. I say “as far as possible” because the usual trade agreements we make with other countries necessarily provide that we take some things we could do without as well as many things we must have. Also, it has never been clearly established where to draw the line between essentials and luxuries. Films and tobacco are the two items •which cause most argument, but as far as films are concerned we are as much an exporting as an importingnation. I am not qualified to argue about the rights and wrongs of the discussions which have been conducted, off and on during the past year, between the Board of Trade here and Mr Eric Johnston, representing' the United States film interests. But the fact that, in films, we have as much to offer as to give, has been emphasised by the results of the recent Venice Film Festival. The jury at this event, which annually brings the cream of their productions from every country which makes films, voted Sir Laurence Olivier’s “Hamlet” the best film of 1948. Television That was not the only prize which this particular film carried off; Jean Simmons, who played Ophelia, was voted the best actress of the year and the film also received the first prize for photography. Other British films won the top awards for script and scenery. It was during World War II that British films really came into their own, and they did this by the only way possible—by becoming good. In the old days cinema managers used to be a bit apologetic if they offered their audiences a piece of home produce, hut now the days of apologies are forgotten. Our films have passed 'the acid test —box office profit —and there is not one of the 3500 cinemas in England, Scotland and Wales which would not as soon show an English film as one from Holiy-

wood—or prefer to, for that matter. Another form of entertainment with which we are going along- well and on our own lines is television. Since the British Broadcasting Corporationstarted up television programmes again two years ago ithere has been .some doubt whether we should carry on with the present, system or switch to some other. A switch would have meant abandoning our present 405line definition screen, and not unnaturally both the 8.8. C. and the manufacturers have been hesitating to start building studios or receiving sets until they know that these are. not likely to be made rapidly obsolete. But the Postmaster-General has now said that there will be no change in the present system for some years to come, and so the green light has been given for all concerned to go ahead. There are about 60,000 television license holders in the London area today, and the manufacturers estimate that they can produce 100,000 sets a year once they get going properly. Even so, it is unlikely that they will be able to keep pace with the demand, particularly when the new transmi-

tter for the Midlands starts operating next year. The successful shooting of the Olympic Games has given another fillip to television, and those who have had a chance to compare the 8.8.C.’s service with its American and French rivals agree that, quite apart from the technical side, there is no question that Britain is well ahead of them in the quality of its programmes.