4 MAY 1944, Page 1

T HE Anglo-American agreement with Spain is a satisfactory out- come

of months of difficult negotiation, backed, quite rightly, by

NEWS OF THE WEEK

refusal on the part of the Allies to give facilities for the importation of oil as long as Spain was sending supplies of wolfram to Germany. In January she sent 300 tons in completion of her undertaking to send t,000 tons to Germany in 1943. Now she agrees to reduce the export to 20 tons a month in May and June and 40 tons a month for the rest of the year; she also promises to expel the German Consul-General at Tangier and certain agents elsewhere, and hand over the detained Italian merchant ships except two whose owner- ship is disputed. The Spanish units helping the Germans in the East have been withdrawn. The quantity of wolfram that may be sent in May and June is obviously more important than the quantity that may be sent subsequently, since any exportation from Spain to enemy territory will be difficult later in the year. Criticisms directed at Mr. Eden suggesting that exportation should have been completely stopped are most unfair. The results are not only -the best that could possibly have been obtained from an extremely reluctant Spanish Government, itself faced with internal opposition, but are also satisfactory in themselves. Spain, it should be noted, has yielded to the full on all points which involved a legal breach of neutrality. To send wolfram to Germany is not actually such a breach. Our justification for demanding its cessation is not that the trading is un-neutral, but that it is contrary to our interest to supply oil to States that are sending our enemies wolfram. But Portugal is inore important than Spain, for she has been sending twice as much wolfram to Germany. Portugal, moreover, counts herself our ally. It is to be hoped that the Foreign Office will be as firm in its atti- tude at Lisbon as it has been so successfully at Madrid, and that Sir Ronald Campbell will be as successful as Sir Samuel Hoare. The same legitimate means of persuasion are available.