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STATEMENT BY THE RIGHT HON. WALTER NASH, MINISTER OF FINANCE AND CUSTOMS, ON 27th JUNE, 1947 TRADE AND EMPLOYMENT At its First Session iii February 1946 the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, of which New Zealand is now a member, set up a Preparatory Committee on Trade and Employment to carry out the preliminary work for a World Conference on the same subjects. The First Session of this Committee met in London in October 1946 and the Second Session opened in Geneva, Switzerland, on 10th April last. The Government authorized me to act for New Zealand at the Second Session, and I now desire to present a preliminary report on some of the issues which are before the Committee at Geneva for consideration and subsequent report to the World Conference mentioned above. The negotiations now proceeding are linked up with Article 55 of the Charter of the United Nations which, under the heading International Economic and Social Co-operation, reads: — " With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, the United Nations shall promote: — " (a) Higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development; " (b) Solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems, and international cultural and educational co-operation; and '(c) Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion." At Geneva representatives of eighteen nations are preparing the draft of a Charter to provide agreed conditions and rules for World Trade and Employment. The Agreement if reached is intended in the fields of employment, economic development, and trade to contribute to the realization of the objective of United Nations, just as the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, and the various international specialized agencies brought into relationship with United Nations are contributing to this objective in their own particular ways. The Geneva talks have fallen into two phases. First, there is the phase of tariff bargaining with a view to reducing tariff barriers to the international flow of goods. This bargaining is proceeding in a great number of bilateral combinations, but concessions so negotiated