BRITISH TRADE.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 February 1920, Page 5

BRITISH TRADE.

INCREASES FOR LAST MONTH. GERMANY BUYING AND SELLING

By TeiejMph—l'ress Assn.—Copyrlcht. Received Feb. 11, 5.5 p.m. London, Fab, 10. Imports for January amount to 183,4118,388 tons, and exports to 105,879,00!) tons, showing increases of 48,9"i1,952 tons and 58,530,728 tons respectively, compared with January, 1919. Manufactured articles for January totalled 83,086,000, compared with 40,202,000 for January, 1919. The principal increases were in cotton nnd woollen goods. Germany re-appears as both an exporter and importer. She is sending a quantity of wine in exchange for manu-' faetured goods and raw materials.—Aus.N.Z. Cable Assu.

INVISIBLE EXPORTS. REDUCE ADVERSE TRADE BALANCE. Referring to Britain's "adverse trade balance," which was given in a recent cablegram as fifteen millions in the case of the Argentine alone, Mr. Harold Beauchamp stated to a Wellington Times representative that a competent authority estimated a short time ago that Britain's imports exceeded her exports by at least £750,000,000 for the current year. "But in the estimate," said' Mr. Beauchamp, "no account was taken of her invisible exports—that is to say, the earnings of ship-owners, which" have been computed at something like 300 to 350 millions per annum. Moreover, the interest that Great Britain derives from her overseas investments may still be reckoned at 150 millions sterling. The adverse trade balance should thus be reduced by about 500 millions; and the deficit would speedily disappear if the exports of the country could le expanded by Capital and Labor working together more harmoniously. I noticed recently that one very large company la England. Messrs. Vic'kers, Son, and Maxim, which was employed during the whole of the war entirely in the production of armaments, is now devoting its attention to the manufacture of motor-cars, the building of ships, and so forth, and the chairman of that company sa ! d in a Tecent address to the shareholders that he anticipated that the turnover of the company would, in another twelve j months' time, be three times greater ] than it had been in pre-war days. j

"As for Britain's adverse "balanca with the Argentine, there will not be the same necessity to import quite so freely from tin Argentine as during th°, war because, with the expansion of her shipping, Britain will be able to draw more freely from the overseas Dominions. During the war, owing to the fact that two voyages to the Argentine could he made for one voyage to Australia or New Zealand, a very large proportion of our shipping was diverted for that trade. Tl.e majority of these steamers will now be available for lifting produce from Britain's overseas possessions, such as Australia and New Zealand. Of course, too. the adverse balance to the Argentine is very largely reduced by the invisible | exnorts to which I have already referLxwl," -