Trade with the East
The prospect of some development of trade with Russia and Poland is encouraging. On both questions Mr. Bevin may be expected to say something in the course of his review of foreign affairs this week, but it is known that out of the recent Moscow conversations between Mr. Harold Wilson and M. Mikoyan, the Trade Commissar, has emerged the hope of the supply of timber and wheat by Russia and of machinery and electrical appliances to Russia, while Poland (partly as the result of satisfactory talks between Mr. Bevin himself and the Polish Prime Minister) should have pork and other valuable food- stuffs to offer. All this is welcome on material grounds alone— though the amount of timber available for export from Russia is relatively small—but still more important as a means of establishing new points of contact with countries with which our relations have been restricted and painfully formal. Russia, it is true, is attempting to drive a hard bargain in stipulating for an extension of the credit arrangements concluded in 1941—a concession which hardly appears to be necessary in view of Russia's capacity to pay in gold. But we need the commodities which she has, or will have, available, and we desire earnestly to establish normal trade relations with her. On those grounds it would probably be wise to accept any conditions which are not shown, on examination, to be grossly unreasonable.
Previous page
