AUSTRALIAN BIG BISINESS JOURNAL ANGRY WITH BRITATN 1594 A Melbourne correspondent has dram our attention to the following editorial in tho May 14th issuo of Financial Review ontitled "Sinister trend in Policies"; ee
"Although the immediate offects of the British decision to abolish the Australian and New Zealand ttter tariff preference may not be disastrous the move has a significance which Australians can ig + only at groat risk, Tho British are reported as saying they aro going to adjust butter quotas in such a way that Commonwealth trade will not be unduly harmed,
"That may be the case for the time being, The British decision noods to be understood not only in the light of the pressure from the Danes for better access to the British markot — part of the price the British must pay for buying their way into EFTA marksots = tut also in the light of the pressure for reductions in British agricultural subsidioas,
"It is now oxpectod that the British Government will gradually change its agricultural support policy towards an arrangement similar to that of the Common Markot. Eritain may gradually abandon her systom of relatively free imports of agricultural products and of defiency payments to her faxmers for a system of higher domestic prices for agricultural products and controls over imports,
‘The Significance of last week's decision on tutter is that it oxtended the principle that quotas will be the dominating control over imports, not tariffs, The policy of quota controls and a gradual abandonment of tho def icioncy paymonts system in its prosent form would, if carried through, moan that the British consumer would gradually move away from the present relativ= oly cheap food to a dear food policy, this bringing Britain in line wit the Six,
"But, for the British balance of payments, the imposition of import levies and quotas on food imports would not mean an abandonment of the cheap food policy, For, although the British consumer would be paying more for his food on the British domestic market, Britain as a country would be increasingly able to play one food exporter off against the other to get food landed in Britain for the lowest possible cost to the British balance of paymonts,
"The decision to extend the quota control over butter imports met thorefore be taken as evidence of a most sinistor trend in Britjsh commercial policy, and one which holds the gravest dangers for Australia, There is — growing evidence of British determination gradually tut inexorably to curtail the right of froo Commonwealth access for foodstuffs to the British market in order to cut down on agricultural subsidy payments, to prepare for entry to the Common Market and to gain more freedom of manoeuvre in negotiations, Thoughtful Asutralians must therefore, understand that failure of British entry to the Common Market has provided only a tommorary interruption to the continuing danger to our export trade from British commercis] policy,"
Thus wo havo it from a reliable source that British commercial policy is to (1) reduce agricultural subsidies by increasing food prices; (2) to counter the subsequent incroased competition from chasper Commonweaith food imports by abolishing free entry and imposing import quotas; and (3) +o use quota system to play off one food producer against tha other, =< ee o