Anglo-Argentine Meat Pact Brings U.S. Protest

Chronicle (Levin), 11 June 1949, Page 5

Anglo-Argentine Meat Pact Brings U.S. Protest

WASHIXGTON, June 9. The United States has protest ed to Britain against the five year Air/lo-Ar-gentine trade agreeinent which officials believe would exclude some Ameriean goods from Argentine markcts. The Btate Department said to-day it. was a distinct possibility that strong Ameriean objections to the agreement also would be registered with the Argentine Governinent. The main American-action is being. taken with the British Governinent on the ground that Britain, like the I nit ed Rtates. is coinmitted to promote the development of freelv competitive international trade. The State Department Press ofiicer, klr Roger Tubby, said: "We have discussed this agrtmmont with the British and restated our general objections to lo;ig tenn bi-late" al agreements which tie up substantial paris of the trade of the partieipat-■•-\g countries." The Anglo-Argentine agreement has been negotiated but is not vet signed. Under it the British would supplv the Argentine with farm niachinery, fuel oil and other petrolenm produets — manufactured goods which, over the flve year period in annual quantities, have a valne equal to the va'm* of the meat and some other foodstuffs to be fnrnished to Britain by Argentina. Britain and Argentina have argued that the arrangement was necessarv because the two countries liave a dollar shortage and there is no other way each could ob tain needed supplies. Tn London British business circles pointed out that the agreement was one of the best methods of fullilling the Ameriean objective of making Britain and the rest of Western Europe inde pen'dent of Marshall aid by 1952. Business quarters asked why the United Htates had not protested against Britain 's tive year trade agreement with Poi and eariy this year if there were objections to the principle of long terni contracts. These quarters speculate whether the United States will also protest against the four or five year trade agreement now being negotiated between Britain and Yugoslavia. In Buenos Aires the Argentine Government promised' to-day to continue covering meat packers' operating losses, contradicting an earlier announeement that the hew Anglo-Argentine agreement would bring the end of meat subsidies. A decree publislied in the official gazette, authorised the payment of losses incurred during the lirst four months of 1949 and said future losses would be eovered until this compensation was replaeed by a defmlte regime. The snspension of subsidies had caused considerable tension in the packing industrv wherein United States capital is heavily represented, because of tho packers' ina'bility to pay the wage increase promised on February 1. '