BONN COAL TARIFF BACKED BY ERHARD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-01634R000100140024-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 25, 1998
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: January 30, 1959
• Content Type: NSPR

02
Approved Fo elease 000/06/13: CIA-RDP78-01634R000100140U24-0
CPYRGHT
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 1959.
BACKED BYERHARD
BONN COAL TARIFF
Duty Must Be Imposed
to Reduce Glut
By ARTHUR J. OLSEN
Special to The ew York Times
planned tariff, which would re-
duce United States coal ship-
ments to West Germany by 75
per cent this year, contradicted
Bonn's expressed liberal trade
policy.
A Foreign Ministry spokes-;;
man said Bonn did not consider'
the note to be a formal protest
since it only expressed "con-
cern" at the projected measure.'
It does not require an immedi
ate answer, the spokesman said.:
The United States Embassy
countered that the note was in-
BONN,
ermany, Jan. 9-,said the United States had "no
Dr. Ludwig Erhard. Minister of understanding" of the new tariff'
the Economy, stood firm today policy, according to an Embassy,
on the Bonn Government's de- spokesman
cision to impose a 10 per cent 1 The Bundestag Foreign Com- '
tariff on foreign coal despite;lnerce Committee approved the
a sharp United States protcst.,coal tariff bill yesterday. Grum-
Dr. Erhard told the Bundes- filing among Deputies of the,
overning Christian Democra
tag, the lower house of Parlia- tic Union made it less than sure
ment, that the $4.76-a-ton duty ,that the legislation would be
was unavoidable if West Ger-'enacted,
inany's domestic coal "crisis"; The Socialist and Free Demo-
was to be overcome. icratic opposition
He said the protectionist;thems+~lves es against par the es bill.
measures, including the pro-,h.
posed tariff and the establish- Meanwhile, Dr. Helmuth
ment of a coal-oil price cartel Eurckha$dt, chairman of the
were preferable to lay-offs of Coal Industry Association, aii-
German minors or the closing nounced the formation of an r
of uneconomic mines. cmergnecy organization to fi-
nance the cancellation of out-
mined to see that all foreign; standing import contracts.
More than 30,000,000 tons of .
ccoadl contracts are ended," he i United States coal still are on 1
Dr. Erhard announced a slight order.
increase in the proposed quota Dr. Burckhardt said $25,000,-
of foreign coal that would be;000 would he made available to
admitted duty free. He said 5,-,Importers who must pay about
000.000 tons, instead of 4,500,-:$1.25 a ton in cancellation fees.
000 tons, would be lmitted be-
cause of the insist( tce of the,
European Coal and teel Com-
munity.
Erhardt Target of Gibe
Heinrich Deist, chief speaker
for the Social Demoratic Oppo-
sition in the debate on coal,
gibed at the glum-faced Eco-
nomics Minister with the ques-
tion "What is left of the so-;!
called free-market economy?" '
The expression is Dr. Erhard'si,
own to describe his economic'
theories of liberal trade ands.
free competition. !
The Economics Minister did
not refer in his speech to a
written protest delivered to the
Foreign Ministry by the Unit
ed States Embassy Tuesday.
The note complained that the,
CPYRGHT