WEST GERMAN REPUBLIC BALANCES ITS TRADE WITH WESTERN EUROPE

Wanganui Chronicle, 15 June 1950, Page 5

WEST GERMAN REPUBLIC BALANCES ITS TRADE WITH WESTERN EUROPE

LONDON, June 14 (Recd. 7 p.m.) For the first time since the war the West German Republic has balanced its trade with Western Europe. This statement was made by Robert Hanes, chief of the Economic Administration mission to Germany, says a report from Frankfurt.

Mr. Hanes said the Germans were now selling Western Europe about 100,000 dollars worth of goods a month and importing about the same from Western Europe. Six months ago the Germans had a deficit of 50,000 dollars.

Mr. Hanes stated: "This is a most encouraging trend and one which we hope will continue .Dire predictions about trade liberalisation which were made at the beginning of the year have not materialised. We must still wait and see what happens in future." Other American officials also said that, whereas Western Europe was flooding Germany with luxury goods only five months ago and barring large German sales, France for example, bought more from the Germans in April than it sold to them. The Germans also reduced their "dollar gap”—the difference between exports to and imports from the United States. The Germans appeared to have decided that the quickest way to place their dollar trade on a sound basis was to cut dollar buying instead of increasing their sales in the dollar area. Imports from the United States dropped from 59,000.000 dollars In January to about 30,000.000 dollars in April.—Special N.Z.P.A. Correspondent.