5 OCTOBER 1934, Page 21

PAYING FOR IMPORTS

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] • SIR,-I should like to question a small point in one of your News of the Week " paragraphs last week. You criticize Lord Nuffield for saying that one man is thrown out of work for 12 months every time a foreign car is bought. This, you declare, is a dangerous half-truth," on the ground that a foreign ear has to be paid for with British exports, so that employment is merely transferred from the motor industry to some other industry. But as we have already a surplus of imports over exports an additional import cannot be countered by a corresponding export, but merely serves to increase our adverse trade balance. Surely your argument is equally dangerous, and equally liable to make for " sloppy political thinking."-I am, Sir, yours faithfully, [The broad fact remains that imports have sooner or later to be balanced by exports-but invisible exporti must clearly not be left out of account. -En. The Spectator.'