ECONOMIC CLAIMS BY ALLIES

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24905, 19 June 1946, Page 7

ECONOMIC CLAIMS BY ALLIES

"The Big‘ Four agreed in principle on four of the seven points in the economic section of the Italian treaty, leaving consideration of the remaining three until Tuesday. The points on which they agreed were:— "(1) Compensation for war damage to United Nations property in Italy. “(2) Italian property in United,

Nations territory. "(3) The renunciation by Italy of claims against the United Nations. “(4) General economic clauses dealing with trade. “They postponed: (1) reparations; (2) the restitution of United Nations property; and (3) Italian property in the ceded territories.” M. Bidault said that France estimated property claims against Italy arising from the war to be about £11,000.000. Mr Byrnes and Mr Bevin said that they had not been able to arrive at a final total of their claims. Mr Byrnes, however, said that the provisional American figure was £27,500,000, though it was quite possible that when all claims were investigated the total might be only onetwentieth of that amount.

Mr Molotov said it was impossible to discuss claims against Italy before answering the question whether Italy was capable of paying. He reminded the other Ministers that it had been stated last month that Italy was too poor to pay the whole of the Russian claim, for which reason, he said, the Russian reparations claim had been scaled down to' one-twentieth of the damage done. He thought the Ministers should accept the principle of partial compensation and leave the experts’ committee to decide what proportion of the claims should be settled. Mr Byrnes at this stage made a proposal to waive all claims agaipst Italy.

M. Bidault said that if Mr Byrnes’s proposal were accepted it would mean that France, which had suffered from Fascist aggression, would also have to renounce compensation. Mr Bevin supported M. Bidault. He said Britain must insist on compensation to British citizens for damage to property in Italy. The Ministers then agreed to establish a special commission,- including Italian representatives, to deal with all claims for compensation against Italy., Mr Molotov, discussing the fate of Italian property in United Nations hands, proposed that not more than one-third of Italian property abroad should be made the subject of United Nations claims. Mr Bevin objected saying that Italian property in Britain amounted to £5,000,000 in cash and £6,000,000 in property. Italy owed Britain trade debts totalling about the same amount. Acceptance of Mr Molotov’s proposal would mean giving Italy two-tnirds of her property, “as a premium for warring against us.” The Ministers finally agreed that Italian property should be retained by each of the United Nations and that the details should be decided by the experts. The Big Four quickly agreed on the clause dealing with Italian against the Allied nations such s Italian financial losses when America froze Italian assets before entering the war. Italy, in principle, will waive all claims against Allied nationals.

The Ministers also accepted unanimously the clause dealing with future trade relations with Italy, including a provision that Italy should grant most-favoured-nation treatment to exports and imports of the United Nations.