TAKING A RISK

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 33, 9 February 1933, Page 11

TAKING A RISK

SOVIET TIMBER

NEW AGREEMENT SIGNED

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, 6th January. A new agreement has been signed, covering the 1933 season, * between Timber Distributors, Ltd., and the Bussian selling; organisations. Udder'this agreement the British group contract to,sell from 395,000 to * 430,000 standards of Buss'ian sawn softwoods in Britain, Northern Ireland, and the Irish Free State. The contract has been signed in spite of indications (including, it is believed, an unofficial hint) that it may be completely overset as a result of steps which may be taken to p-ovido a share of the British market for Canadian softwoods. . timber from' British Columbia is unable to compete in tfi'e British market owing to the low prices prevailing as a result of the large quantities of softwoods imported from Soviet* Eussia, Finland, and Sweden. Under Article 21 of the Anglo-Canadian agreement of Ottawa both the British and Canadian Governments undertook to take adequate stepS to prevent goods from a foreign.country being imported at such a price as to prevent the sale of Imperial goods. : It is likely that, following repreisentatiohs from. Canada, the quantity of timber imported from foreign countries may be drastically limited in'the near future in order that British Columbian timber may bo profitably sold in this country. .... The new contract between Timber Distributors and the Soviet has been, negotiated in the full knowledge that its provisions may go by the board as a Tesult of future action by the British Government, and it is understood that a "force majeure', clause is included in the contract, which is so framed as to safeguard both parties in tho event of such _ction. It may bo taken for granted that the Board of Trade has in no way approved the present contract, nor is there any reason for tho signatories to assume that their contract will not suffer, either as a result of the negotiations now proceeding for a new Trade Treaty between this country and Soviet Eussia, or because of action following tho Ottawa agreements,