FREE TRADE

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 133, 2 December 1929, Page 15

FREE TRADE

WITHIN THE EMPIRE

"The question that is arousing most interest in England to-day is that of inter-Empire free trade," said His Majesty's Trade Commissioner (Mr. L. A. Paish), speaking at the British Manufacturers' Association luncheon last week. He was sorry, he added, that Lord Beaverbrook had not put his case more clearly, however; because some people had thought that he was aiming at the abolition of all tariffs between the different parts of the Empire. That could not come about. The present discussion of the question had neen started by M. Briand when he put forward his suggestion for a United States of Europe. But he (Mr. Paish) did not think there was likely to be >any great general reduction of the tariffs of Europe, let alone their abolition. So that the position was not likely to arise of one great free trade unit, the United States of America, on one side of the world, and another great free trade unit, the United States of Europe, on the other. But something must be done to lessen the trade barriers in Europe. Travelling from Paris to Stockholm, for instance, one came across—in an area that could be put inside one of' the big States of America—five different languages, six different systems of weights and measures and money, and as many different tariffs. The whole thing was so absurd that the people wanted to bring about some amelioration of the position. It was in the same spirit that Lord Beaverbrook had raised the question as to whether some sort of inter-Empire economic union could not be brought about. But inter-Emßiro free trade was not likely to arise,*because the Dominions wanted to protect and encourage their own industries and England could not afford to raise the cost of production by taxing the food of the people. But something more was likely to be done to increase inter-Empire trade, because so many big business men were realising that the development of their industries depended largely upon an increased export trade to the Dominions.