The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1932. RUSSIAN TRADE.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 October 1932, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1932. RUSSIAN TRADE.

OoNSiDKitAituo concern lias been expressed in Germany and France at the decision of the British Government to cancel the existing trade agreement with Russia, but it has been made clear that the British Government in its action has only been desirous of giving itself a. free hand in dealing with State-controlled -exports and remains anxious to develop trade between Great Britain and Russia. In the later stages of the Ottawa Conference the Canadian delegates argued that it was possible that the value of intra-imperial efforts to raise prices on the Brit.sh market would he nullified by the dumping of Russia’s export surplus; and they urged the British Government to follow Canada’s example and put an embargo on Russian imports. While deprecating a complete s' i Plage- of trade between Great Britain and Russia, the Australian and New Zealand delegatessupported tip* Canadian request that the British Government should g'v itself i free hand to deal with dumped goods from literia ; hut the extent to which Russian exports have been responsible for the collapse of prices on the British market is open to question In 1980-31 Rusia exported some 10b million hm-diels out <-( a tot. 1 vvoral trade of SCO million hu hels, though against this must bo set the fact that over the sa c period unsold stocks in North America available for r->'ort amounted to at least 400 million

bushels. It is probably true that, if Russia’s trade continues to expand at the present, rate', the pouring of her export surplus on to already glutted markets will create a serious problem; but the Dominions will have to remember that their argument for stricter “anti-dumping measures” is twoedged. At least one Dominion is now paying heavy export bounties; and there is always the possibility of paying a concealed bounty bv manipulating exchanges. But the British ’Government is not likely to restrict imports from Russia without good cause. At the Ottawa Coi.f.uenro both the Free State and the South African delegates announced that their countries wore buying and would continue to buy Russian goods because they were cheap. It- will not be easy to persuade the British people to cut themselves off from a cheap market in the "interests of Empire trade when only some Dominions are prepared to follow suit. The trad? between R.us'ia and England has assumed substantial niTHortions and there will he much diffidence in cutting adrift an increasing trade proposition in these time of difficulty and stringency.