The Dominion TUESDAY, JULY 30, 1918. BRITISH TRADE POLICY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 266, 30 July 1918, Page 4

The Dominion TUESDAY, JULY 30, 1918. BRITISH TRADE POLICY

The clccision o£ the British Government to co-operatc with tho Governments of the overseas Dominions in the establishment of a system of preferential trade within the Empire marks the opening of a now ora in the history of British commerce. It involves a revolutionary change in'fiscal policy as far as the Motherland is concerned. The announcement of such a far-reaching departure from traditional economic policy would have excited intense interest and provoked worldwide discussion if it had been mado before the outbreak of war; but in these history-making days the extraordinary has become ordinary, and the sensational has become commonplacc. Things are now happening on such a vast scale; marvel is being so piled on marvel, that our sense of wonder has been blunted, and events of outstanding Imperial significance arc allowed to pass almost unheeded by the great majority of us. The public mind is so fully occupied in following the developments of the stupendous battle now proceeding on the West front that it can hardly be expectcd to adequately appreciate the magnitude of the consequences which must follow the -acceptance of the principle of preferential trade by tho British Government. We do not yet know how it is proposed to put this principle into practice, but Me. Bonau Law will soon make a comprehensive statement on economic policy, explaining the Government's intentions in reference to the resolutions of the Economic Conference of tho Allies,, held at Paris in 1916, and "most-favoured-nation treaties." This declaration of trade policy promises to be an utterance which must command the attention and joccivc tho earnest consideration of the Goycrnments of all civilised countries. Tho determination to organise the Empire's trade for tho Empire's benefit is causing much tincasiness'to our enemies, especially to Gerrfiany. It has now been made quite plain to tho Germans that we will no longer permit them to enjoy the trade privileges which they have so grossly abused in tho past or to exploit tho resources of the British Empire for the purpose of enabling themselves to wage a successful commcrcial war _ against us. Tho Gorman Press realises that Britain's adoption of preferential trade must have big political as well as commercial consequences'. Our enemies do not take kindly to the idea of being ousted from somo of their most profitable markets.

One of the resolutions carried at tho Paris Conference stated that "the Allies' declare themselves agreed to conserve to tho Allied countries, before all othery, their natural resources during the vholo period of commercial, industrial, agricultural, and maritime reconstruction, and for this purpose they undertake to establish special arrangements to facilitate the interchange of these resources." Tho operations of an economic policy such a:; that expressed in the abovo recommendation will undoubtedly prove a staggering blow to German commerce and industries. Germany will certainly hit back if sho can. She is preparing as energetically as we arc for the coming trade war. She has been doing her utmost to conic to an economic agreement with her allies as a countcr-

stroko against the Entente l'owcns. Hut her partners are by nn means enthusiastic; nor are they very hopeful regarding the outlouk. They arc, afraid that Germany will sacrifice them to save herself. They have very little confidence in the German commercial strategy. A leading Austrian newspaper points out that the continuation of the war by means of economic weapons is "the most- terrible danger" for the Central Powers. The article proceeds as follows: —

We shall need after the war raw materials in enormous qiiantiticn from oversea—cotton, hides, jute, cornier, rubber, phosphates, oil-plants, and ho i'orlb. All these things will be scarce; ttupplin.s will lag far behind the gigantic world demand. And all these things are controlled by the Entente. 'J'he Knlciile can striko u« tremendously hard by refusing to supply hh with I hem raw materials. Jt is, therefore, lo our interests that every economic war after Ihe war is avoided, and that immediately after llie war equal' commercial relation*

anion;; nil countries are restored. . . . AVe have absolutely mi other possibility of obtaining ran - materials from oversea except by securing /rigantie credits abroad; we shall never be able to pay for them with the very modest export trade that wo shall have to show. The Germans are endeavouring to

persuade- themselves that they will lie able to regain their former commercial prosperity in spite of thethreatened economic boycott. Some German authorities profess to believe that Germany will find compensation for her lost markets in tho possibilities' of exploitation which her military successes in the East have, opened up. But others are not so optimistic. Hiina Deenr.UßG, for instance, confesses that Germany's peace in the East cannot I'.ompensato her for the loss of the dumping-grounds and especially the raw materials of three-quarters of llie world. He urges that the Allies must be reduced to a frame of mind .which would make them willing to join a "league of nations for the universal supply of -a humanity destitute of raw materials." How touching is Germany's solicitude for the welfaro of "humanity"!

Britain has been energetically or-1 ganising for some time past for the coming struggle for the world's markets. The purpose of the demand for economic mobilisation is not merely to counteract the unscrupulous trade methods of the enemy. Early in 1916 the President of the British Board of Trade declared that this is more than a mere question of beating Germany. It is a question of national organisation. "There should be no essential article either for, the arts of peace of for the arts of war upon which we cannot, within the Empire, lay our hands." We have entered into the era of "economic nationalism." The power and resources of tire British Government- are being extensively used for the purpose of organising the country's commercial and industrial activities for the present war and for the coming battle for trade. The British Government have already appointed some 2*50 committees.and commissions to | supervise and control industry. | fhiaucc and commerce. The pressure of necessity has caused tradition and precedent to be rudely set aside "for the duration of the war," and in November last a Bill was introduced in the House of Commons by the President of the Board of Trade with the object of making the phrase "for the duration of the war" equivalent, as far as foreign commercc is concerned, to "until three years after the war is ended." This is'a sure sign that it is the intention of the Government to take a big part in the coming commercial struggle. In the trade war Britain and her Allies arc going to take the offensive. They are not simply preparing to defend themselves against the attacks of the enemy. The proceedings of the Imperial Conference show that tho organisation of the British Empiro is rapidly being _ perfected. The possibilities' of British trade expansion are incalculably great. In an article in tho Emjlhli Review, Sib William Earnshaiv Cooper reminds u? that the Empire already produces all the raw materials "wherewith to build up a mighty pan-Bri-tish industrial organisation the like of which the world has never seen," and it.also possesses a still vaster potential power in latent resources. "'This enormous wealth," he says, "must be no longer squandered, but conserved and utilised as far as may bo economically expedient in rearup a mighty industrial Imperial memorial in lasting gratitude to those splendid sons of empire who so nobly laid down their lives in the great causo of freedom."