NOT NEGOTIABLE

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20502, 19 May 1938, Page 8

NOT NEGOTIABLE

The speech given by the Hon. W. Mash on Monday may mark the end, for the time being, of a strenuous effort with regard to trade agreements. The Minister was able to report that agreements had been made with German}’, Holland, Switzerland, Canada and Australia, and he certainly hoped that all of them would result in increased trade, but with respect to the hoped-for arrangement with the Mother Country, Mr Mash had to admit “we couldn’t get that agreement.” He still believed that it would be reached ultimately, but after holding that things were still “in a negotiable state” he has had to conclude that, at least for the present, his proposals will not carry the day. ' Y T et that particular agreement was to be the first Labour intended to negotiate. In 1936 Mr Mash laid down the order, and a trade treaty with Great Britain was at the head of the list. AYhen that had been fixed then agreements with other countries would follow, although it was never very clear how the trade was to be financed. Things have not gone according to plan with the result that the major agreement cannot be negotiated, and the minor ones, of varying importance, have taken its placa. There was an interesting sidelight on overseas trade when the Minister dealt with the expansion of the Customs revenue. Mr Nash explained that the people of the Dominion had more money to expend on goods, and the Mew Zealand manufacturers could not meet the demand, with the result that the businesses turned to overseas markets for the balance of their requirements. If that were the complete explanation then it would make it more difficult than ever to understand the increases made in the tariffs quite recently. Tariffs are no assistance to trade and the adjustments were designed to limit imports in certain particulars, a thing that should not have been necessary if, as the Minister said, the local manufacturer could not cope with the business offering and firms had to import to fill their orders.

Mo one will deny that the Minister of Finance made a strong and determined effort to reach a trade agreement with the Mother Country. He was confident that it could be done, and on the basis he had outlined—that the credits established at Home from the sale of Mew Zealand produce would be used, after provision had been made for interest, freight and other commitments, to purchase British goods. Clearly he still thinks that would be a sound basis, and these agreements were to assist to restore the exchange rate and form the basis of a new order. He believed that he could induce the British leaders to see things from his point of view, but after a long effort the admission came last Monday that Mew Zealand could not obtain the agreement its Government desired. Another item in the election manifesto had proved to be a factor beyond control.