Anglo-Russian Trade The Anglo-Russian trade agreement, of which the terms
were announced by the President of the Board of Trade in the House of Commons last week, is to be welcomed on several grounds. It marks a clear com- mercial rapprochement between two countries which have shown an increasing community of interests in foreign politics ; a considerable step towards the revival of foreign trade ; and a renewal of long term lending abroad by • Great Britain. It is only natural that the Soviet Commissar of Foreign Trade should praise the agreement not only for its purely commercial advantages but as an Anglo-Soviet contribution to peace. The Soviet Government has given its foreign creditors no ground for complaint or criticism at any time, and the British Government is to be congratulated on a transac- tion which will substantially stimulate international trade, with no appreciable financial risk. The announce- ment of the agreement contrasted very strongly with Mr. Runciman's report of the failure of the negotiations for the reopening of Anglo-Italian trade, owing to the refusal of Italy to come to any reasonable arrangement regarding the liquidation of her commercial debts.
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