EMBARGO:-NOT TO BE CABLED? BROADCAST
OR PUBLITSHED BEFORE THE CONCLUSION OF
THE PRESS CONFERENCE IN CANBERRA ON
THURSDAY, APRIL 26TH.
BRITAIN AND THE COMMON MARKET
Statement by the Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for Trade, the Rt. Hon. John McEwen
Mr. McEwen said today that the intensive discussions
on which he had been engaged abroad had fully confirmed his
earlier judgment that many Australian export industries could
be faced with immense problems if Britain joined the European
Common Market without special arrangements to protect our
interests. Mr. McEwen was speaking on his return from a seven weeks
visit to North America and Europe. in the course of his
overseas journey, Mr. McEwen visited Washington, Ottawa, London
and the capitals of the member states of the European Economic
Community. He said that he had talked with President Kennedy,
Mr. Macmillan, President de Gaulle, Mr. Diefenbaker and
senior Ministers in all the countries which he had visited.
In London he had several meetings with the group of senior
British Ministers handling the Common Market negotiations. In
Brussels Mr. McEwen also had discussions with Professor Hallstein,
President of the European Economic Commission and Mr. Mansb-olt,
Vice-President responsible for agricultural matters within the
Common Market.
" As I made clear before I left Australia", Mr. YcEwen
said, " I was not myself engaged in negotiations. Australia
is not a party to the Brussels negotiations. We are, however,
vitally concerned with many aspects of them. My task was to
ensure that at the highest possible political level the critical
issues at stake for Australia were fully understood by those
Government leaders whose views and policies would determine the
outcome of the negotiations". Mr. McEwen said
, Mr. McEwen said that his discussions had been frank and
uninhibited. " I explained very clearly," he said, " that the
Australian Government greatly valued a unified, strong and
prosperous Europe. The Rome Treaty had this as an objective.
We believe that the accession of Britain to the Common Market
could contribute to this objective. As a staunch and unwavering
partner of the Western allies, Australia, no less than the
European countries themselves, welcomed any development which
strengthened the free world as a whole".
" But I made it equally clear", the Minister continued,
" that our Government's view was that the strength and unity of
the West, far from being strengthened, could be seriously impaired.
if the British Commonwealth were divided and its members
weakened by a failure to take into account and accommodate the
vital interests of Commonwealth countries in the maintenance of
their long standing trade and economic ties with Britain"
Mr. Mc~ wen said he had explained that Australia's rights
of unrestricted duty free entry into the British market for most
of our export products had been in existence for more than a
hundred years. The contractual arrangements under which reciprocal
tariff preferences are provided have extended over thirty years.
Many of our great primary industries had been developed as a
deliberate consequence of our contractual rights, and some of them
were crucially dependent upon their preferential access to the
British market for their survival as profitable industries. Some
secondary industries had succeeded in penetrating the British
market with the benefit of preferences.
If Britain should join the Common Market without special
arrangements being made to safeguard Australian interests, there
would be damage to Australian industries at present exporting to
Britain products valued at about œ 160 million a year. Many would
be seriously affected. Commodities affected include wheat and
other grains; butter, cheese and processed milk products; meats;
sugar; fresh, canned and dried fruits; wine; lead and zinc; some
/ manufactured
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manufactured goods and a whole range of agricultural products.-and
processed foodstuffs. Instead of these goods entering the
British market free of duty, as they do now in almost all cases,
they would have tariff duties and import levies charged against
them. They would lose the important tariff preferences nearly all
of them now enjoy against non-Commonwealth suppliers.
The Minister said he had emphasised in his talks that what
was at stake for Aus tralia was not just a matter of the possible
loss of export earnings although this in itself was a matter of
real importance since Australia's economic growth and development
was heavily dependent upon our ability to expand our export
receipts. The real issue at stake was the future livelihood of those
Australians farmers, miners and factory workers whose-products---
are largely exported to Britain. Indeed, even manufacturing
industry supplying the home market could be affected if our
capacity to earn foreign exchange becomes insufficient to provide
us with all the raw materials, components and plant which our
factories need to maintain their production. The future of whole
communities, such as the towns and cities of the sugar producing
areas, and the irrigation districts, and isolated mining centres,
were deeply involved. In the end result, few Australians would
not be affected one way or another.
Mr. McEwen said he had explained that these were the kind of
problems which the Brussels negotiations raised for-Australi-a. He
had pointed out that the opportunities and advantages we had
enjoyed for so long were not a one-sided affair. They were
balanced by the reciprocal tariff preferences which Britainen -oyPd
in the Australian market and which in total over forty years had
resulted in Australia, despite our small population, being the
biggest single market for British goods, consequently providing
more jobs in British factories than any other country. " Over the
decade of the 1950' s", Mr. McEwen said, " each Austra. Lian-. bought an
average of œ 34 worth of British goods a year. The people living
in the Common
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in the Common Market countries bought about œ 3 worth per head
a year from Britain and United States citizens bought less than
œ 2 worth". Mr. McEwen said that these were the facts and circumstances
which made Britain's application for membership of the Common
Market of such historic importance for Australia and Australians.
His task had been to ensure that Government leaders in Europe
and in the United States understood the stark realities of the
situation for us.
" Despite the unremitting efforts which the Government has
made since the possibility of Britain joining the Common Market
emerged for the first time in the middle of last year, I found
that many of the Government leaders to whom I talked did not fully
comprehend our position. I am confident that my discussions
succeeded in registering with them very clearly the strength of the
argument why the interests of Australia and other Commonwealth
countries in the British market should not be impaired. Without
exception, I found that as a result of my explanation of our
circumstances, there was a much better understanding of our case
and, I believe, a more sympathetic comprehension of our problems."
" Nevertheless", Mr. McEwen said, " lam bound to say that I
am far from satisfied that this genuine sympathy and understanding
will necessarily be translated into practical arrangements to
adequately safeguard our interests. From the outset of the
negotiations the British Govenment has said that it would not
feel able to enter the Common Market unless important Commonwealth
trading interests were protected. This, of course, is of tremendous
importance and only time will tell whether the special
arrangements necessary to give effect to this declaration can be
secured from the Common Market Governments"
Mr. McEwen said one of the most disturbing elements in this
very complex situation was the American attitude towards the
retention of the British preferential trading system which was so
vital to
vital to Australia and to the continued unity and strength of the
Commonwealth. Despite the strong representations which he had
made in Washington, he was unable to say with any real confidence
that the pervasive influence of the United States in Europe would
not operate towards the disidantlement of the existing Commonwealth
preferential system in its own self-interest.
' lthough United States spokesmen had said that some
transitional period of adjustment was necessary, the United States
Government appeared to be clearly against what it vwould regard as
the continuation of the preferential system through special
arrangements made to meet Commonwealth trade problems if Britain
wore to join the Common Market.
Mr. McEwven said that A. ustralia would not be tranquilised
with transitional arrangements. These would be no concession
to Australia. The Europeans were arranging this as a matter
of course between themselves. He was concerned with permanent
arrangements that would safeguard Australia's vital trade
interests and allow the necessary economiic development to continue
without serious setback.
Moreover, he had put forward forcibly the view that the
which was the main instrument of the United States'
post-war trade policies and which stood for no new preferences,
recognised and accepted the existing preferential structure.
If it had not done so, Australia would never have joined the
G. A. T. T. Neither would any other Commonwealth country; and
the G. A. T. T. would probably not have come into being.
He had argued that Australia and countries similarly
placed already had a sense of frustration about the disparity
of trading opportunities between the highly industrialised
countries on the one hand and exporters of primary products on
the other. This must inevitably turn to a sense of real
grievance if the United States were to use the incident of
Britain's application to join the Common Market to seek to kill
our preferences and obtain profit in the process by benefitting at the
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at the expense of our trade in the United Kingdom, and British
trade in our market.
Tdr. McEwen said that his arrival in Europe had been timed
to enable him to press the Australian Government's desire to have
its own representative explain to the officials conducting the
negotiations in Brussels the facts of Australia's trade interests
in the British market, and the vital importance to Australia that
these interests should be preserved. This opportunity had been
secured and the case was in fact being put today in Brussels to
the negotiating Committee of the Common Market and Britain by
Dr. Westerman, Permanent Head of the Department of Trade.
Mric. McEwen said that the decision of the E. E. C. Ministers
to invite an Australian representative to present the Australian
position fully justified the stand which the Australian Government
had consistently taken that no-one could put the case for
Australia as well as Australia itself.
Mr. McEvien said that the Australian approach to the
negotia'tions--in--Bruss-elIs has always been positive and constructive.
He said that in his talks in Europe and elsewhere he had discussedthe
kind of arrangements which might not only protect Australia's
trade interests but should be acceptable to the Common Market
countries and to third countries such as the United States.
Possible arrangements had been discussed with representatives of
major Australian industries, which the Government had arranged to
go to London to provide practical assistance to Dr. Westerman in
the preparation of the Australian case. Mr. IdcEwen said he was
grateful for the co-operation of the industry advisers and the
assistance which their knowledge would bring to bear on the many
problems involved.
Mr. McEwen said that he would be making a full report on
his visit to his Cabinet colleagues early next week, after which
he expected to make a statement to Parliament. 53/ 62T.
Canberra, Thursday April 26th, 1962.