Evening star., 1938-11-18
Trade Patts Unite
Demotraties Against
Germany's Bartering
Hull Policy Spreads
Over World as
Peace Argument
BY BLAIR BOLLES.

democracy SCruCk a OlOW 1Or ner.
self in the new British and Cana
dian trade agreements, the gold
edged documents signed with much
ceremony in the East Room of the
White House yesterday while the
President looked on with pleasure.
Before many months of the new
year are out, it is felt here, these
agreements will have presented a
powerful threat to Germany's way
Of doing international business, by
barter and one-sided trade, and
thus to Germans internal econ
omy. The agreements become wholly
effective January /.
Even though many members of
the British Empire and common
wealth of nations are omitted from
. direct consideration in the agree
ment with the United Kingdom. the
two agreements put the whole empire
behind the policies of Secretary of
State Hull. whose voice is loudest
in the world in arguing that peace
may be insured through easy trade.
Dominions Consulted.
The final signing of the United
Kingdom treaty. affecting directly
England. Scotland, Northern Ire
land, Wales, Newfoundland and the
British colonial empire, from Sara
wah to Jamaica. had to wait on
many aside diplomatic conferences
between London and the capitals of
Its dominions. AS the preface to
the agreement states:
Many of the concessions OBJ
tained in the United Kingdom mar
ket, especially on agricultural and
forest products. result in the modifi-
cation of tariff preferences which
the British dominions and other
parts of the British Empire have
enjoyed.
Some of these preferences were a
matter of formal agreement, and
their modification required the con-
sent of the governments concerned
AS the United States and Germany
represent the opposite poles in polltl-
cal history-the regimented state
versus the democratic state-so the
theories of international trade OF
the Roosevelt administration and
the Hitler regime are symbols OF
absolute oppositeness.
, Not only do the agreements with
the United Kingdom and Canada
the latter is a revision of a three
year-old agreement-ring the earth
with a tangible expression of the
Hull policy: they thrust the Hull
policy specifically into territory
that once was German.
Preach Message to World.
The United Kingdom and the
United States signed the agreement
with the conscious design of aiding
untrammeled foreign trade. The
British agreement states:
"Since the trade policies of the
United States and of the British
Empire have wide influence in the
world. the liberal spirit shown in this
trade agreement should have an i'm
portant bearing on the commercial
policies of many other countries,
quite aside from the fact that un-
der the most ost-favored-nation prac-
tice Of both the United Kingdom and
the United States, most countries
will benefit directly from the con-
cessions provided in it,"
At time when Germanys in
terest In regaining the colonies she
lost during the war is increasing,
the United Kingdom agreement re-
fers directly to many of those lost
colonies-Kenya. Uganda. Tangan-
yika British Togoland and the Brit
lsh Cameroons. These African lands
England holds in mandate under
the League of Nations. They were
Germany's until 1918.
Under the most characterization
clause. the benefits to Britain are
extended to almost all nations, ex-
cept, among others, Germany her
self. This provision for easy trade
has the effect Of making trade with
Germany. which is bound up with
" many restrictions, less appealing to
many countries.
Face Attack at Home.
For all this alignment of the
English-speaking lands around the
standard of prosaic trade In the
interest of democracy the Hull pol
Icy now faces a possible domestic
attack. purely from the trade point
of view. A movement is brewing
In the coming Congress for a re-
vision of the Tariff Agreements Act
of 1884, which gives the State De-
partment the power to raise or lower
tariffs by so per cent without refer
ence to Congress.
Tl,o Iy,,n o1rooV,,o~4r 1,,o,o
raised to total of 20 yesterday,
represent long term assault on the
Republican Smoot- -Hawley tariff of
1890. Instead of presenting the
traditional Democratic party argu-
ment for the low tariff-principally
domestic in its considerations-Mr
Hull has turned the tariff into an
instrument of international policy,
selling the low tariff as peace
maker
Widens Wheat Market.
From purely trade point of view,
the United Kingdom agreement is
likely to solve what is now beset-
ting problem for Secretary of Agri-
culture Wallace and the Midwestern
American farmer-wheat.
At the moment Secretary Wallace
Is seeking to solve the wheat-surplus
problem by procedure that out
RACES the Hull policy-by subsidized
expectation of 100,O00,O00 bushels
abroad. This goes contrary to the
principal of equal trade opportunity.
Since November II, 1882, the Brit
ish import duty on non-empire
wheat has been at cents a bushel
Beginning January l, wheat enters
the United Kingdom. which is
Americas biggest wheat buyer, free.
In 1882 England entered into a
preferential trade agreement with
the members of her empire.
Won't End Surpluses.
Federal experts generally agreed,
however, that the treaties would not