PULLING BRITAIN THROUGH

Chronicle (Levin), 13 September 1947, Page 5

PULLING BRITAIN THROUGH

SIR STAFFORD CRIPPS QUTLINES INDUSTRY'S PART IN CRISIS Received Saturday t 10 a.m. • LONDON, September 12. Addressiiig a meeling representing both sides oi! industry, Sir Stafford Cripps exhaustively described the revised exports programme designed lo bridge the gap of £372,000,000 in Britain's yearly balance of oversea payments after allowing for the cuts in imports which Mr. Attlee announeed o.n August 27, dmoimting to £228,000,000. Sir Stafford said the Government would fix aetnal targets (as had been done with eoal) for each expprt indnstry, for the pnrpose of inereasing exports as soon as possible by £31,000,000 monthly and by a further eonsiderable amounb in another six months, until exports were 160 per eent. of those in 1938. it was of the utmost importance that as ninch as iiossible of tlie extra exports vvent to hard currency countries, especially those in the western hemisphere. It wopld be necessary to introcluce a more detailed direction of exports of eertain essential goods so as to use exports to obtain the iinmediate supplies Britain needed froni abroad. Compulsion niight be necessary to achieve this. Sir Stafford announeed that the Seeretary of Oversea Trade, Mr. Milson, would be chairman of a committee which would guide the new export drive. It would represent all production departnients, the Treasury, Foreign Office, Commonwealth Relations and Colonial Offices, and the planning Secretariat. "This is a deep seated eeonomic upset and it will be years before we can find a vvay tlirough the difficulties," he said. "The only way we can shorten the period is tlirough our own efforts." Tables of statistics distributed at the meeting shqwecl that the biggest increases to reach the new targets have to be borne by industries inaking venicles, niachinery, electrical goods, implements and instruments, ali textiles and apparel, chemicals, pottery and glassware, leather and rubbcr goods. Britain had to proceed upon the basis that the eountry itself had to balance its own accounts. Britain therefore had to adjust standards of living ..nd conditions of work wherever necessary. " AVe are deterinined to maintain our eeonomic independence and enable the eountry to continue to mahe its own independent contribution to the working out of international policies. AATe don't wish or intend to be tied by eeonomic strings to the political policies of othcr countries, however friendly they may be," he said. Sir Stafford, referring to the eritieism that the Government had lived beyond its means, said th.u'e had nevertheless been great pressure upon the Government to absorb even more goods in the home mai'ket in order to stimulate production. The Government had tried to keep a balance which would give some measure of reliel' and eiicouragement to the British people while still enabling the eountry to increase exports. The Government succeeded in doing this but production had not increased as rapidly as it might have done owing lai'gely to material shortages. Import prices at the saine time had gone up far higher than expected owing to the same shoi'tages %and lack of price eontrol in other countries. Britain would therefore be forced into a large degree of bilateral trading and the consequent bilateral balance of payments with various individual countries. "We shall arrive at the situatipp where the countries' currencies become hard eurrencies so far assterling is concernec], unless we can balance our trade by more exports to those countries," he said. "AVe must rely upon more effective development of the resources of the Commonwealth and Em])ire which are very great, though unl'ortunately, largely tlirough our past neglect, they have , not been adpquately developed." Sir Stafford Cripps said that although a Commonwealth and Empire Customs Union which Mr. Bevin. had suggested, would make trading within the Empire easier for Britain, it must be remembered that Britain still had ';o pay for imports from the Empire by export goods in exchange. The advantage of a union would be that mutual trading within the Empire would be freer with less likelihood of interference from external forces which Britain could not eontrol. "Just as United States and Rnssia have found strength in building up extensive free markets within their own territories, so we and the Dominio/is and colonies might beiipfit from a similar free area tlirough out the Empire. Sterling is likely to become Ihe most widely used international currency. It is our duty and our interest to keep the sterling as stroi g and stable as we can. The main present hope of any substantial degree of multilateral Irading depends upon the strength and exchangeability of sterling so long as the acute dollar shortage lasts," he addecl. "The lack of balance with which we are therefore concerned, isn't merely between this eountry and the dollar countries but between this eountry and the rest of the world." Britain had to fill the prospective gap of £50,000,000 in the trade balance as quickly as she could and if possible beforti the ultimate reserves of foreign exchange and gold were rnn down below the danger point. There* was very little time and /ery ' small reserves with which to accomplish this very big •joh. The cuts in imports announeed on August 27 were ealculated to save £228.000,000 monthly of the estimated £600,000,000 deficiency for the coming year. This lei't £31,000,00 monthly to be got by increased exports.