UNITY OF ALLIES

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21041, 17 February 1940, Page 7

UNITY OF ALLIES

BRITAIN AND FRANCE DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE SETTLEMENT OF PROBLEM (Official Wireless) (Received Feb. 17. 11.30 a.m.) _ RUGBY, Feb. 10 The Board of Trade announces that Britain and France have agreed that effect should be given to the conclusions recently reached by the British and French Ministers of Commerce with a view to promoting the favourable development of BritishFrench trade. The understanding reached involves, as regards, the mutual trade of the two countries, a considerable of the measures of prohibition and restriction which each was obliged to impose at the outbreak of the war. The arrangements now agreed upon follow logically from the provisions of the financial agreement of December 4. Substantial progress has also been made in recent exchanges of views towards the realisation of the same object in relation to other parts of the British and French Empires. At the same time competent authorities of the two countries have agreed on steps to simplify the greatest possible extent the present formalities relating particularly to the control of external trade and the movement of private persons and to postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications. Finally, the two Governments have jointly examined means for overcoming the difficulties standing in the way of a parallel development of their export trdae. Full And Close Collaboration In this connection they have approved of the forthcoming discussions in London between the Federa- i tion of British Industries and the \ corresponding French Federation, j which are designed to facilitate contacts between the corresponding exporting industries of the two countries. These discussions and their results as a whole serve to emphasise the desire for full and close collaboration, such as will not only contribute to their strength in the present circumstances, but also form a potent factor in the post-war economic construction. Growth of Practical Co-operation Franco-British trade is discussed in the weekly journal Economist, which regards the rapid growth of practical co-operation between the two nations as the outstanding good that has come out of the war. During the past five months, it says, one fact after another of the economic war has come up for joint discussion and decision* Supply programmes have been concerted, purchases merged, and foreign resources pooled. A very far-reaching financial agreement has been achieved. The broader aspects of the wage and price policy have been discussed by the Supreme Council and by representatives of the trade unions of both countries. The Economist says that granted a general desire on both sides of the Channel to increase the volume of trade between the two

General von Brauchitsch, chief of the Germany Army, inspecting his troops. countries there would seem to be two tasks to face —a short period task of meeting the changed circumstances of wartime and the more extended problem of securing a permanent increase to the level of trade more worthy of close Allies and friends. Lack of Competition After noting that with few exceptions there is little competition between British and French trade in neutral countries, the Economist proceeds: “This comparative lack of competition is the best reason for hoping that the closer economic collaboration begun in wartime may be extended in peacetime. Though it would be an exaggeration to say that the two economies are the complement of each other, at least they do not clash and the restriction of trade in the past decade has not been due to any specific campaign by Britain against French goods, or by France against British goods, but merely from the general protectionist practices of the two countries against foreign imports in general.” After expressing the hope that these protectionist impulses will disappear after the war the Economist suggests that the most effective way to expand French-British trade would be exempting it from the main current of protection, as the Imperial trade in both countries has been exempted.