TRADE WITH GERMANY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 March 1939, Page 6

TRADE WITH GERMANY

OBSERVATIONS BV REICH OFFICIAL SUGGESTED OPENINGS FOR DOMINIONS. IN RETURN FOR PURCHASE OF MANUFACTURES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (Received This Day, 9.35 a.m.) BERLIN. March 16. “Political considerations rather than strictly economic difficulties are ■at present preventing an extension of Australian and New Zealand trade with Germany,” declared Dr Otto Rieck, secretary to the British Dominions section of the Ministry of Economics, in a special interview with the Australian Associated Press. "This political approach must be altered before we can hope for a freer exchange of goods.” After referring to the Dominions’ economic ties with Britain, he said he felt that Australia and New Zealand might justifiably transfer to Germany some of their trade with the United States, which for years had enjoyed most favourable balances. Germany was able to provide nearly everything the United States was selling and might even enter the motor car market to the advantage of Australia and New Zealand when the people’s car was in full production. Such a diversion would at least mean that the -Dominions would be enabled to pay for imports directly by exports. There was no reason to believe that the Dominions need yet fear a decline in Germany’s wool purchases, because the development of synthetic products in Germany still needed large quantities of wool, but an expansion of buying was dependent on Germany’s requirements of all raw materials, the existing disposition of raw materials sources also Germany’s internal economy, which demanded the maintenance of .careful relationship between the volumes of various imports. However, the Dominions should not forget that Germany was a good market for a wide range of primary products and metals.