U.S.A. DOES NOT UNDERSTAND EMPIRE PREFERENCE

Chronicle (Levin), 4 October 1947, Page 5

U.S.A. DOES NOT UNDERSTAND EMPIRE PREFERENCE

Beceived- Friday, 7.30 p.m. LO-NDON, Oct. 3. GAnglo-Ameriean discussions at Geneva over the draft. tariff agreemem; reached a deadlock not becanse Britain or the Commonwealth generally is unbending in defence of Enipire prefevences, but. becanse th-ere are signs that United States opinioa- has no.t fully tppreciated ho.w the CommQhvealt.h prizes these institutions. This is. stated by The Times in a leading article. It adds: "At- no,. time have tariff cbneessions . offered by ; United States appeared substantial enough in terms of additional trade, to .justify the elimination of any large number of preferences. America seems to have insisted that even a reduction was not enough and the eliuination o.f many preferences was required. In manv respeets United States proposed no more than ro.ughly a return to. the 1922 tariff which was itself considered very high. It is hardly likely that Commonwealth represeijtative's, partieularly those of the United Ivingdom,. ■would feel they were offered a reasonable exchange. The United Ivingdom is more than ever unwilting to. sacriflee without due reco.mp.ense, something which at any rate keeps her closer to her own kin and assnres her of an elemeut of stability and security in an uncertain world. There are grounds for believing that the effect of the 1932 Ottawa agreements was not to restrict total world trade but. possibly even slightjy inerease it. When tlie agreements were. due for revision in 1937, however, there was little desire to expand them, The Commonwealth eountries found that the United Kingdom, though a good raarket, was nat reall'y ;an expanding market for primary products and the United Ivingdom found that preferences en manufaetured goods were being to same extent mullifled by tariffs erected for the proteetion of infant industries in the Dominions. The natural eourse was to. maintain preferences but not inerease ties. Undertakings to reduce preferences are- regarded with ample jnstiflct.tion from past experienee as a reat fsacrifice. "