Evening star., 1935-02-06
TRADE PROMOTION
BASIS RECIPROCITY
Policy, First Advocated in
Mckinley Days, Has Be.
come Reality.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.


While all sorts Of more spectacular
activities of government are getting
the headlines. a group of officials rep
resenting different departments are
quietly putting into effect the policy
set forth by Congress last year whereby
foreign trade would be increased.
Reciprocity, first advocated in Nc
Kinley days and frustrated In the Taft
regime, has become a reality under
entirely different auspices In fact,
the negotiations are non-political, but
the experiment has political flare-upS,
of which more will be heard as the
number of trade agreements increases.
Briefly. the national policy is to
develop trades with other countries
whereby America undertakes to en-
courage the purchase in this country
OF various imports of a selective char
acter in return for an opening of for
eign markets to American products.
Brazil Tries to Grow Cotton.
Thus, Brazil, with which country
trade agreement was recently COM
pleted, grows considerable coffee for
American consumption, but, in turn,
Brazil has lately been trying to grow
cotton when American cotton produc-
ton needs foreign outlets.
The negotiations are conducted by
an interdepartmental committee pre-
sided over by Assistant Secretary
Francis B. Sayre, who represents Sec
retary of State Hull The committee
comprises representatives of the De-
partment of Agriculture, the Depart
ment of Commerce, the National Re-
covery Administration, the Tariff
Commission and George N. Peek, the
special adviser to the President on
foreign trade.
While differences of opinion have
been expressed by Mr. Peek on the
one hand, and Mr. Sayre on the other,
they relate to formula and procedure
with the hope of attaining the same
bjective-increase in American en-
ployment.
Repercussi0ns Seen.
The approach is by commodities and
with keen recognition of the fact that
negotiations between America and an
other country might have repercus-
sionS in third or fourth country.
Hence, so far as possible, negotiations
are opened with as many affected
countries as possible at the same time
Thus, America is interested in getting
wood pulp from Sweden, but this af-
fects concessions to Finland. When
coffee was discussed with Brazil, it re-
quired conversations with other coffee
producing countries in Central Amer
lea and the Caribbean.
To date, treaties or agreements
which need no further ratification by
Congress, since they were specifically
authorized by both houses, have been
completed with Cuba and Brazil, and
there are agreements almost ready for
signature with Colombia and Haiti.
Other agreements are pending or ne
gotiations have been begun with Bel
GUM, Sweden, Guatemala, Switzer-
land and the Netherlands.
Hearings have been announced for
American importers and exporters and
producers interested in the products
of Finland and Canada. The Cana
dian negotiations will follow imme-
diately after the hearings are COM
pleted, which will be in the latter part
Of March.
Split on Concessions.
The most-favored- clause in
existing treaties is one of the vexing
problems that affect the negotiations,
because, under one Interpretation, a
third country automatically gets the
benefit of any concessions in duties
given by the United States to a sec
ond country 1t has been argued by
Mr.. Peek that this should not be
given unless the third country also
grants concessions. But the Depart
ment of State takes the view that
unless the third country is discrim-
mating against the United States and
thus violating the oSt-favored-na-
ton clause the United States must
give the same duties to countries that
have the moSt-favored-n prin-
ciple in their treaties with this Gov
eminent.
Another perplexity arises on account
Of the instability of foreign exchange.
The gold bloc countries naturally are
basing their trades on the mainte-
nance Of their gold standards and on
the probability that the United States
will not go back to the old gold basis,
but will retain 60-cent dollar.
The interdepartmental committee
Is the subject of considerable pres
sure from interested groups and IS
under attack through members Of
Congress when industries or prod
ucts of their constituents are ad-
versely affected The general trend
is in the direction of scaling down
tariffs, and in this respect the whole
policy looks toward a reconstruction
of American foreign trade whose COL
lapse brought so much Of present.
day unemployment.
Copyright, 1857