SOVIET SCHEME.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 365, 5 March 1932, Page 1

SOVIET SCHEME.

Playing One Country Against Another. DISQUIETING FIGURES. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, March 3. In the House of Commons Major D. J. Colville, replying to Labour criticism of the reduction of export credits in respect of sales to Russia, said that the Departmental Advisory Committee did not favour a continuance of long credits because the Soviet had been playing one country against another to get longer credits.

Last summer the Government agreed to extend heavy industries credits to Russia to thirty months, upon the Soviet undertaking to place £6,000,000 worth of orders here first. The National Government, owing to the financial crisis, decided that the guarantees must henceforth be reduced to twelve months, but this had not applied till recently. When the Russian £6,000,000 programme was completed the Soviet had been informed that the position of British trade with Russia was not

satisfactory, in view of our adverse trade balance. During the past five years we imported £135,500,000 worth of Russian goods, for which we paid cash, and exported only £25,000,000 worth to Russia, for which extended credit was allowed.

The Government believed that it would be more helpful under the tariff scheme to bargain with Russia than to offer extended credit.