GREAT INTERNATIONAL TRADE TREATY

Chronicle (Levin), 31 October 1947, Page 5

GREAT INTERNATIONAL TRADE TREATY

Received Tliursday, 11.15 p.m. LONDON, October 30. Tlic grcatost innlt ilat ora! trade treaty ever negotiatcd, binding Brilain, ihe Luitcd SDtles and 21 other eoiintries to tariff reduelions covci'ing wcll over lialf Ihe world 's trade, was signed at loii.-ii. repoils Rcuter's Oeneva correspondent. Tlic laril'f eoneessions concerning Britain, the United Stal es and some other leading trading nations, eover 76 to 86 per cent. of Ilam' rcspcetive total imporl trade. The sigiiat ories to the treaty shared in 1938 — the iatest year for which (igtii-cs are avahtible- — tthout £3,900,000,000 worth of tlie world \s inijjorl trade. — The six -nionths' ncgotiations at Oeneva involved nearly 1000 forinal nicctings of tlie delegations. In the statciiient in Washington President Truman hailed the Washington tnnlc ttiriff tigreernent as "& landmark in the history of international ccononiic relations. Never before iiave so rnany nations combincd in sneh a sustained effort to lower the haia-ier to trade. In Ihe woi'Id eeononiic situat'on eharaetei-ised un'til now by pn.g rcssivc deterioi-ation, this agrc enient was heai'tening indecd." . .\ew Zealand conipleted agreements with the United States, Britain. Ohile, ('hina. Ozechoslovakia, Franee, India, Oeylon, Norway and South Afriea. New Zealand did not n'egotiate with Australia, Oanada, and Leltanon-Byria. November 18 is the provisiona.1 date for the publieation of the ddails of Ihe agreement.