Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-10-06
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

merly minister of commerce of
France--the Herbert Hoover of
France. He has long been prominent
in French business, and is now a Sena-
tor. On the board Of directors are six
of the leading business men Of the
United States.
At the last meeting Of the interna.
tional chamber Alberto Pinelli of Italy
was elected president.
The great issue before the interna-
tional chamber at present is how to
termed trade barriers" Quoting the
| resolutions adopted at the last meet
ing, held at Stockholm, trade barriers
are defined as follows:
Trade barriers, in the international
sense, are those arbitrary national
restraints on the free movement of
goods, capital and services, which not
only hamper trade and traders but
limit the economical production and
distribution of goods, capital and serv-
ices, to the detriment of all peoples.
They inevitably tend to depress the
standards of living"
Concretely expressed. trade barriers
refer to obstacles to transportation of
goods, prohibitions of Importation and
expectation, customs duties and for
malities, red tape" decentralization, "
or as better known here, Standard.
cation" of types Of manufactures
whereby multiplicity of shapes and
other non-essential characteristics is
sip1plified, and the adjustment of "all
artificial hindrances in the way of
free international movement of cap.
| ital."
While one of the first mentioned
trade barriers" is customs duties
!. e., tariffs on imports-the natural in
ference that the aim is to secure free
trade in behalf of importers and ex.
| porters, regardless of protection to
home industry" is denied emphati-
cally by the American office of the
international chamber, located in
Washington. There is no disputing
| that free trade is the hobby of a
strong element. but it Is because of
that very condition that the impor-
lance of such a worldwide organiza-
ton to meet it is emphasized.
An article in the Nations Business.
organ OF the National Chamber of
Commerce, written by Cyril j. G..
| Quinn, manager, American section, In.
| ternational Chamber of Commerce,
| contains a statement to the effect that
a recent manifesto of European bank
ers and business men, protesting
against the tariff walls and obstruc-
lions of trade between all European
! nations, had no reference to the tariff
| which protects the American indus
| tries, with our high wages, against
| the ruinous competition of European
low wages. Mr.. Quinn writes:
They recognize the difference be
| tween a tariff wall surrounding an eco.
nOmically self-sufficient continent and
n tariff wall which separates iron ore
| from the coal that is needed to turn
| it into pig iron and steel: a tariff wall
| between Vienna and the plains of
Hungary that feed it. Think.
pairment of American purchasing
power will do Europe no good and
bring Europe no benefit.
| ITO avoid misunderstanding. the
| American group has made itself per.
| fectly and coherently clear on this
| point. 1t stated in it's report to the
! inaugural meeting Of the central com.
mittee on trade barriers:
| 1.-THE American committee believes
| that the central committee must of
necessity recognize that the question
of the tariff policy to be pursued by n
nation is a matter of domestic con
Germ, and that each nation must re-
serve to itself the decision of matter
which Is SO definitely one of national
policy. The United States
has been able to achieve a standard
of living which is acknowledged high
Our good fortune in reaching this
standard has been partially due to
our fortunate possession of raw mate
rails which have made for a large de-
gree of national economic self-sufii
cheney. American business
and American labor have come to the
considered decision that these living