TRADE AFTER WAR

Taranaki Daily News, 18 September 1940, Page 10

TRADE AFTER WAR

AMERICAN VIEWPOINT PESSIMISTIC PICTURE More alert minds in the Roosevelt administration have been doing some very careful thinking about what is going to happen to ^merican trade in the future, and the picture is far from optimistic, write Drew Pearson and Robert S. Allen in the Boston Evening Trariscript of Tuesday, July 9, 1940. Here are some of the things they have concluded, states the article: — "After the war is over it is almost inevitable that the world will be divided into four great trading areas: (1) Japan and China, comprising about 450.000,000 people and falling under the totalitarian domination of Japan. (2) Germany, which will exercise life and death rule over about 400.000.000 people, including all the nations of Europe. (3) Russia, which will govern the trade of about 200,000,000 people. (4) The United States, Canada and South America (if we can still keep the latter under the Monroe Doctrine), which will represent about 350,000,000 people. "In the first three of these economic areas, foreign trade will be completely controlled by Government monopolies. For instance, Germany, operating on a slave wage scale and a socialised system, will be able to cut prices and undersell the United States throughout South America. Already Germany is offering steel in Rio de Janiero and Buenos Aires for September delivery far under prices quoted by United States steel mills. Japan, which is sure to industrialise China, also will pay slave wages and will do the same.

Choice of Four Policics. "Therefore the United States, in order to continue any kind of export trade whatsoever, will have to do one of four things: (1) Reduce wages to a level approximating the starvation standards paid in Germany and Japan. (2) Reduce profits or eliminate them altogether if German prices are to be met. (3) Subsidise industry and virtually take it over as under the Nazi, Fascist and Soviet systems. (4) Create a foreign trade monopoly. This is what the Russians have done for more than a decade, and what the Nazis have been doing more recently. ' All exports abroad are sold through the Government and imports are purchased the same way. "It is this last system which New Deal advisers consider least objectionable and on which they are concentrating. Naturally the handling of the United States exports and imports through a Government monopoly is a long way from the Hull trade treaties, which are based upon most favoured nation treatment, low tariff walls and the principle that every nation should treat the other as it wanted to be treated. The highly laudatory principle, now so outdated by Hitler, has been one of the chief bones of contention inside the New Deal. Government Backing Necded. "The Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. H. A. Wallace, has fought it from time to time and fell foul of the Secretary of State, Mr. Cordell Hull, over the insignificant question of placing a quota on French walnut saies. Now, however, New Deal master minds maintain in this day and age, with the full weight of the German Government bartering for trade, that a single United States business man has about as much chance as a single workman bargaining with his employer. He must have the weight of his Government behind him. This picture, which, it is interesting to note, makes. no mention of the existence of Britain after the war, is significant as indicating the views of at least one section of American opinion just two months ago. A copy of the article forwarded by the Dominion executive of the Farmers' Union for the information of minor executives was before the North Taranaki executive of the union.