Britain And The Sterling Area

Chronicle (Levin), 22 March 1948, Page 7

Britain And The Sterling Area

WASIIIXGTON, March 20. Tt is lcanied authoritatively that under the present plans for the Marshali Plan ailministration Britain will not be permitted the use of dollars acquirecl iiinler the plan for financing her role as banker for the sterling area. Knowledge of this arrangement appears to have given rise to reports thal Britain inight be obliged to cease the conversion of sterling into dollars for sterling area countries, to restrict sterling loans to European countries, and block existing balances to rednce the ability of India, Egvpt and other non-European countries to buy British : goods that otherwise might gO to I Europe. ■ j Such rcppr'ts are; doni'ed by British . officityls in Washington who' poi'nt buj; I that under tlie present propbsals ' for the .TM^shnjl: 'Play' its adinihistfktof i could li.ol j)hrinitS;l|i'itain to use dollars I acquirmT by ljter- under the plan to finance the qfrpv-iHiOri ;b|:f dollars to sterling ar'da cohnfrtes. AFafshall Plan dollars would be u^ed only for the pufehase of . ilarshall Bfiiu goo|ls from the United States andf'vom dther'co'U'ntries. ''5' .

There is no intention at present, however, for Britain to cease furiti^iing dollars from'" other sources to gther stci'ling; area countries .tp.' assist, fthei'r trade with the dOHaigarOa. , , Officials in Washington "haye'" been extrcmeiy ptr/JJed.by the-. New" Vork "Times"' correspbndent 's niessage: froiu the Paris 'onference on the- Marshali Plan in which i,t was stated: "A growing body of State Uepartment opinion and rn Gontincntal * Gov'e'rnments sees Britain 's struggle to defend the sterling as tlie greatest menace outside Pommunisni itself to the success of the European recoverv programme. "