TRADE CONFLIC

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 December 1938, Page 5

TRADE CONFLIC

CRITICISM OF QERMAi METHODS > Z UNFAIR BUYING & SELLINu. BRITAIN IN ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. RUGBY. November 30. An important reference to the conditions of economic competition in Europe was made by the Secretary of the Department of Overseas Trade, Mr Hudson, in a speech at the end of the House of Commons’ debate on a private member’s motion on the development of the export trade. Mr Hudson, dealing with the question of why Britain did not follow the example of the United States of America in refusing most-favoured-nation treatment to German goods, said that there was no discrimination against British goods in Germany, as was the case with certain United States’ goods. The British complaint against Germany was merely that by her methods she was destroying trade throughout the world. According to information he possessed in his department, it appeared that in the countries of central and south-eastern Europe, Germany was trading Y>n a basis of paying to producers in those countries much more than the world paid. If she was going to do that, it was obviously at the expense of the German people. Germany was obtaining an economic stranglehold on some of these countries by raising the cost of living to her own people and by exporting goods at less than cost price. In order to meet this competition, said Mr Hudson, the only method was to organise British industries so that they might be able to speak as units with the industries of Germany. Britain was stronger financially than many other countries and certainly stronger than any of the totalitarian States and thus had an advantage which would result in her winning the fight. His department was doing its best to see that more and more industries were organised on this basis. QUIETLY DROPPED. ANGLO-GERMAN DISCUSSIONS LONDON, December 1. The “News Chronicle” says that the British move for the development of Anglo-German trade in connection with which officials recently visited Berlin, has been quietly dropped temporarily owing to the changed temper of the German Government.