BLOCKADE LEAK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 January 1941, Page 5

BLOCKADE LEAK

I UNITED STATES EXPORTS I TO RUSSIA

MAKING SUPPLIES AVAILABLE TO GERMANY.

BRITISH REPRESENTATIONS

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY. January 29.

It is considered possible in London that at his interview today with the United States Secretary of State. Mr. Cordell Hull, the British Ambassador, Lord Halifax, might impress upon Mr. Hull the urgency of extending to the economic field the aid to Britain afforded by the United States in the matter of direct war material. Such aid, it is considered, would be particularly effective regarding the export of materials useful in war across the Pacific through Russia.

Some surprise is expressed here at the reported statement by Mr. Hull that he believed United States exports to Russia were insufficient to be of any great military value to Germany. This view is by no means shared by informed quarters in London, and in regard in particular to copper, cotton and oil-drilling machinery the view is strongly held that a very substantial advantage may accrue, to the enemy through this channel.

The pre-war normal Russian imports of raw cotton, for example, amounted to about 20.000 tons in 1937-38 and of American cotton about 4000 tons was exported to Russia in 1937. Between the outbreak of the war and October. 1940. there is no evidence of any Russian imports of cotton across the Pacific. Since that date, however. 32.000 tons of cotton have been shipped to the Soviet from the United States.

It is not known what Russia has undertaken to export to Germany in cotton under the German-Soviet agreement. but it may be assumed for certain that it will not be less and probably will be considerably more than last year's exports, which were estimated at 99.000 to 100.000 tons. It is indeed believed that, taking into account Germany's increasing use of articles of textile materials, sufficient will be available from this source to provide the whole of Germany's cotton requirements for war purposes.

SUPPLIES OF COPPER. Evidence of direct exports of copper to Germany are also so far lacking. It is considered probable, however, from the study of the returns of exporting countries for 1937 and 1938 that Russia’s imports of copper during 1940, including about 56.000 tons from the United States, were in excess of her current requirements. It is noted, too. that the Soviet’s own production plans should have made the country selfsufficient in copper by the end of 1940. Regarding oil-drilling machinery and equipment, while the actual amounts involved in export from the United States to Russia and Germany of industrial equipment—machine drills, relining equipment and boring drills—may not appear considerable, it is nevertheless pointed out that their value to the Russian output and indirectly to the Russian ability to supply Germany is very great. In the case of oil-boring drills these can only be supplied by the United States since Germany is not in a position to produce the high-grade equipment which Russia needs in order to maintain or increase the production.of her oilfields. All this industrial equipment is in fact raw material of the type which Russia is unable to produce and a few million dollars’ worth of such equipment may be of incalculable potential value in implementing the Russian obligations to Germany under the Ger-man-Soviet pact. DR. DALTON’S SURVEY.

The Minister of Economic Warfare. Dr. Dalton, replying to a question in the House of Commons, said ample evidence existed that the Soviet was exporting Russian goods to Germany and replacing them by imports from the United States.

"United States exports of cotton to the Soviet, which are normally negligible. amounted during the last quarter of 1940 to considerably more than recent annual imports into the Soviet from all sources.” he said. "Large quantities of cotton are now being exported from the Soviet to Germany. “Exports of brass and copper from the United States to the Soviet rose from small quantities before the war to 56,000 tons and exports of wheat from a negligible quantity of 100.000 tons in 1940. Exports of petroleum amounted to 114,000 tuns during the first II months of 1940. Both wheat ami petroleum are commodities of which, the Soviet has undertaken to supply large quantities to Germany under recent trade agreements. "The value of the exports of oil drilling machinery from the United States to the Soviet during the first eight months of 1940 was nearly double the exports during the whole of 1938. ami there have been considerable further shipments during tile last four months of the war. "Shipments from the United States to ’.he Soviet are not subject to navicerts. .since the trade routes concerned 1i v " 111 s * t>u ‘ ! arva