Evening star., 1947-10-26

that the United States and United
Kingdom had agreed on major
points" for q reduction Of tariffs.
A number of matters still re-
quired consultation with British
Empire governments overseas, he
said.
Signers Listed.
Members Of the Tariff Agreement
Committee are TO sign the final act
about October 80. These countries
are Australia, Belgium, Luxembourg,
Brazil, Burma, Canada. CeyIon,
Chile, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia,
France, India, Lebanon, Neither
lands, New Zealand, Norway. PAX
istan, Southern Rhodesia, Syria, Un-
ion Of South Africa, United States
and United Kingdom.
The protocol OF provisional ap-
plication is to be signed by Novem-
Der Is by countries named in the
protocol. These countries are Aus
tralia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Cam
ada, France, Netherlands, United
Kingdom and the United States.
Nations. which sign the final act,
but are not mentioned In the pro-
tocol, may sign the protocol any
time up to June 30, 1948
In the meantime, the effect of the
first group of signatures, by No
vember Is, will be to make the gen.
eral agreement effective for the
countries concerned on January l.,
l948. Meanwhile, all the tariff re-
ductions made. In bilateral agree
ments, with the revised schedules to
be attached to the multilateral
agreement, are to be made public o..
November 1s by the secretary gem
eral of the United Nations.
Data to Be Released.
That will be the information
which manufacturers, merchants,
importers and exporters waited for
during the many months Of the
Geneva talks. To release tariff re-
ductions piecemeal and In advance,
would defeat the purpose OF the
agreements, it was explained.
The protocol of provisional ap-
plications itself is complex. Two
parts Of the general agreement are
to be applied Professionally. Another
part is to be applied ito the fullest
extent not inconsistent with existing
legislation"
Generally, the protocol is to be
effective until . charter for the
international trade organization is
adopted. This charter first must be
discussed at Havana and finally
adopted by World Trade Conference
delegates. Then 1t must run the
samut Of the various parliaments
for ratification.
DR.. H. c. Coomhs, head Of the
Australian delegation. described the
charter Us "a skeleton" and "it
remains for governments OF the
world to put flesh upon Its bones
and breath In its nostrils," DR..
Coombs told the delegates that Ger
tain essentially political issues have
been held over" for the Havana con-
ference.
Agreement Called Vital.
At the same time, Clair Wilcox,
head of the United States delegation,
said that unless strong multilateral
tariff agreement was concluded in
Geneva, the Havana conference on
the charter would convene In an
atmosphere Of cynicism and disillu-
sionment."
One OF the principal issues left
over for Havana was the charter
provision for the executive authority
in the International Trade Organi-
zation. One proposal in Geneva
was that permanent seats on the
executive committee should go to
Canada, China, France. the United
Kingdom, the United States, Soviet
Russia and the customs union OF
Belgium, Netherlands and Luxem-
bourg. In another bid to secure
Russian participation in the Havana
conference, the question of regula-
tions of State-monopoly trading was
left open. Voting procedure-wheth-
er each nation should have one vote
or whether there should be weighted
voting according to q country's pop
ulation and volume of foreign trade
also was left to the world confer
ence. The relationship of ITO mem
bers to non-members also has not
been determined.
Countries at the Geneva talks
claimed they represented az per cent
of the worlds international trade.
What finally came out of the Ge-
neva meeting was a series of bilat-
eral agreements. How far they will
go toward the objective-reduction