— Cont mr i Next year.” ) | , ‘trade MOSCOW GROUP of Australian busi- _nessmen have provided an. ¥ example of how to increase with the Soviet Union and also make a neat profit thereby. With Canadian-Soviet trade Negotiations scheduled to open in June this year, the Australian xample might provide at least _ °ne hint of how we can boost the ‘trade dealings with the SSR—to the benefit of both Countries. Background to the Australian eo Was. the signing last Octo- as _Of the first five-year trade cease between the down- nders and the Soviets. The new ae €nvisages increased mutual rts to bolster trade balances. Actin Patch Ness ed 8 with exemplary dis- » Several Australian busi- meh formed a company call- Nigroup Proprietary Ltd., On Feb. 10 this year signed hae ‘With Soviet embassy a Officials. Press reports said chase acts “could increase the bine: of Australian-Soviet € substantially within the : Unigroup_ will act as_ sales ee for a wide range of Soviet EAN Ss. These will include heavy 5 Pment, aircraft, ships and y rofoil vessels, and dredging sey bment, as well as such con- nee 800ds as textiles, per- €s, furniture, sporting wea- cones TV sets, washing machines Nd watches, re ‘mportation of Soviet cars is stage» distant future at this Unigro : u 3 sists of P, whose board con: eng ar 22 individual sharehold- ae Ml offer credit to Austra- wi Purchasers of Soviet goods, Virtually the only limit the credit-worthiness of Stomer, Oviet official said the pro- Boods range of his country’s na be mainly those not hist actured in Australia. Both said ead and Soviet officials Grane X arrangement could in- ise Oviet buying of Austra- te Xports, principally in_pri- Y products, Thus, bot benefit and Australia eing the cu AS duct h countries stand to the big gap favoring €xports over Soviet i a ade Should be narrowed ‘con- ine ly. In recent years Aus- exports to the USSR have Tu 4 well ahead of imports from at Country, In this ) connecti i- son with Can ‘tion a compari | anadian-Soyiet trade -AUSSIES SHOW THE WAY We can increase our trade with the Soviets /on credit. lengthy interest payments. The But it’s the question of all things being equal that counts. The USSR is no longer interest- ed in being only a buyer, even This only means Soviets want to sell as well. Mind, the fault for such trade imbalance is not only Canada’s (or other trading partners of the | USSR)—a point made by Soviet. | Premier Kosygin in his speech | to the recent 23rd congress of ; the Communist Party of the _ Soviet Union. ' + Kosygin had some critical re- marks about the work of Soviet - - | trade officials. He suggested that i many of them tended to close One in every five Canadian workers depends on trade for his job. Here a heavy duty electrical | transformer is being loaded on an overseas-bound ship in the Toronto harbor. We could strengthen Canada’s economy considerably. if we'd do whe more and more countries in the West are doing — make our trade with the Soviet Union and other socialist countries more of a two-way street. relations is inescapable, and an application of the Australian ex- ample in Canadian. conditions would seem to be a project well worth the attention of Canadian businessmen. Because of its pos- sible favorable effect on trade balances, such projects should also receive support from the ‘Canadian government. Canadian conditions, of course, are not automatically those of Australia, but there seems.to be enough similarity in the two situations to justify serious study of the Australian initia- tive as the type of thing that is possible. If Canada is to develop profit- able sales to the Soviet Union it is clear we will have to buy more from the USSR. Although the huge wheat sales by Canada may be considered an exception, there is no doubt the Soviets regard the situation as one in which they are paying out vast amounts and receiving nowhere near the same in return. There has been some improve- ment lately, as evidenced by the purchase of a Jarge order of col- ton by one Canadian firm, and the purchase of a_ substantial amount of nickel ore by another. But the big imbalance still re- ‘mains. The Soviets want to correct this state of affairs. Until this is done they are in no hurry to By WILLIAM DEVINE — cials. _trade officials have paid sufficient attention to advertis- themselves in their offices with- out getting out and finding out f' what the Soviet Union can sell } to other countries and pushing ‘for such sales. It is also true that Soviet in- ing and marketing techniques B which are an essential part of ‘sales programs in a capitalist country. The Australian example, how- ever, is a step in this direction by the Soviet Union, as it will , mean Soviet goods will have to , openly compete on the market _ with others. ’ make the trade imbalance worse by buying more from Canada. : This is the impression I have - received from Soviet trade offi- . But the fact is that there is a market for Canadian goods in the Soviet Union. This is attest- ed to by the recent sale of a Jumber mill and negotiations for a pulp and paper mill. With a narrowing of the trade gap such sales could no doubt increase, providing more health and more jobs for the Canadian economy. England, for instance, has sold an $80 million synthetic fibre plant to the Soviet Union on a J5-year-credit arrangement. But England’s trade _ balance with the Soviet Union is the opposite of Canada’s. It buys more than it sells. This, of course, is not insisted on by the Soviets. Their point is, simply, that too much-of an unfavorable trade balance is too much. Nor are longer-term credits by Canada the: simple answer, al- - though these would probably be welcome, all things being equal. So the Soviets are on the move in this respect. And if Canada takes the challenge — and opportunity — to heart, there is little doubt mutually ' profitable trade can reach new proportions between. the two — countries. Trade and Commerce Minis- ter Robert Winters recently said prospects are bright for a sharp _increase in trade with socialist countries. He added that he had been invited to visit the USSR and hoped to make the trip. It is understood his visit may take place in the fall of this year. If he comes he should find a vast and profitable market here for Canadian goods. Kosygin ‘also expressed a desire to ex- pand trade with the capitalist countries. But the Soviet market will be available to Canadians only if there are reasonable chances for the Soviets to_sell in Canada. There may be difficulties but, ‘ piven the will and recognizing the advantages, there must sure- ly be a way. If the Aussies can do it, so — -can the Canucks... 0.5.