Imperial Valley press., 1944-04-05
NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL UNIT
SCANS FOREIGN TRADE

among Jfl1 0ldJOT SEOupS iiilCht upoi
mapping comprehensive programs for
home and foreign trade after the war,
the National Association of Manufac-
turers is taking a prominent part. This
organization especially is viewing with
alarm" the present situation as to tins
nations part in sea transport and mar
ketS abroad.
1t is known among we'll informed and
clear thinking people and groups that
England is not permitting the war to
Interfere with a mighty trade expansion
program and it also is known that COM
prehensiVe strides have been taken there
through boards named early in the war.
Churchill in his recent address on the
progress of the war and his recovery pro-
gram had no word on BritainS foreign
trade plans, and by this omission reveal
ed that the British are reaching out In
advance and will be prepared to start
their plans overnight when the war ends.
His failure to mention this point very
definitely was based on the fear that such
mention would have stirred friction
among the allied nations. However,
there are some observers who saw In his
silence a deeper meaning; that the prime
minister displayed the British instinct
NJ mo competition" and that he pur-
Sosely by-passed that phase of his pro-
sram simply because they are not tip
ping their NIT to anybody-yet." All of
which behooves this nation to hop along
and find out where we stand on our own
set-upS.
In connection with the survey under
vav by the NAM its executive commit
tie points out these as vital problems
concerning our foreign trade in the days
ahead:
"The logical assumption that we may
face the same revival of nationalistic
thinking that existed in every nation
following the last war. 1t is quite likely
that other nations, in the attempt to de-
velop their own self-sufficiency, will
close their markets as best they can to
American goods
THE possibility that because of the
British Empire preference arrangements
Set forth in Ottawa, Canada, and from
unmstakable trends seen in other ma
tons, the United States may find itself
an island of free enterprise in the econ
omic seas of carteliZed industries and
government subsidized competition.
The certainty that unless we over
haul our maritime laws, The American
merchant marine-now the greatest ever
assembled-is doomed to sprout seaweed
whiskers and barnacle bottoms in some
new version of Hog Island or Brooklyn's
.rOtOn row.
~ international currences will be
scrambled like eggs in Juniors market
basket as a result of this war. 1t is doubt
full that many countries can maintain
domestic gold standard, or their none
tary equivalent. The whole problem of
Financing international trade is thrown
wide open for new solutions"
"The United States will end this war
as an over-balanced creditor nation 1t
will be difficult for us to develop export
markets because it will be difficult for
other nations to buy from us and pay for
what they buy, even if they want our
goods"
"Tha wartime development of substi-
tute products for some of our most i'm
portant pre-war imports is another fac
tor. Synthetic rubber is good example.
Certainly this critical industry arising
from the necessities of war, cannot be
scrapped nor hamstrung On the other
hand expansion of war-born industries
in peacetime operation will make it still
more difficult for foreign nations to pay
for our goods"
These suggestions we'll may be consid-
cred carefully by any and all who seri-
ously are considering postwar planning