BRITISH ALLY, No. 51 December 17, 1944 Publication of the British Ministry of Information. The price is 2 rubles.

"Lend-Lease" in the Future

In the last issue of The British Ally, some data were published on the assistance provided by Britain to its allies. Recently, Mr. Churchill made a statement in the House of Commons about the changes that are being made to the procedure for obtaining supplies from the United States under the American Lend-Lease Act. Below is the text of Mr. Churchill's speech.

Speaking in the House of Commons on the further implementation of the Lending or Leasing Act, the Prime Minister stated:

“I think the time has come to report to the House the results of the negotiations that have taken place over the past few weeks in Washington between the British Mission, headed by Lord Keynes, and the American authorities.

In the course of these negotiations, it was studied how the continuation of the war after the defeat of Germany might affect the methods that ensure the most profitable use of our combined resources. In particular, they discussed the changes in the supply program proposed to us by the US authorities in accordance with the provisions of the law on lending or leasing.

This legislation, which, we must remember, was passed in the interests of the defense of the United States, is strictly limited to what is necessary for the most effective conduct of the war by the United States and its allies.

With the end of the war against Germany, it will be possible to significantly reduce some of our needs. We expect that our needs can be met by about half of what we receive in 1944.

All these supplies and services will be used solely in the interests of the war against a common enemy. Dragging the war into the sixth and seventh years will require some changes in order for the economy of our country to ensure the most effective conduct of it.

Fatigue and material deprivation after a certain limit can reduce the strength of the people leading the warrior, as well as reduce this strength and other deprivations.

After the defeat of Germany, in due course there will be a switchover of part of the manpower reserves to the production of goods essential to the civilian population.

It will be necessary to improve the food situation in the country, to devote the necessary resources to urgent housing construction and to take serious steps to establish our export trade, which we deliberately did not pay attention to in the difficult time of our trials, but without which we cannot live in the future.

Sacrifices that can and must be made within a limited period of time become counterproductive if they are prolonged for the longest period.

All these questions, both military and economic, were discussed jointly in Washington by our representatives, supplied with data on the standard of living in Britain, and by the heads of the American departments concerned.

We have provided the experts with all the factual material related to the issues under discussion, which we only had. The White Paper, published a few days ago, contains relevant material that the public of Britain and the United States had the opportunity to become acquainted with.

Our representatives in Washington sent us a full report of the negotiations. I wish now to express our deep appreciation for the genuine sympathy with which the actual state of affairs was discussed and in the spirit in which the decisions were taken.

I would only like to remind the Chamber that the Lending or Leasing Act does not at all provide for assistance at all, for the promotion of post-war reconstruction, or for the assistance of our export trade. This great law has done us and our allies a great service. We did not ask for and did not count on assistance that does not fit into the framework and provisions of this law.

Nevertheless, with the further development of the war, the nature of aid, which hastened the conduct of the war, without changing in its main features, gradually changed in details.

So now, so that we can fully participate in the ongoing struggle, a supply program calculated from the conduct of the war with Japan after the defeat of Germany is worked out jointly with the American authorities in the interests of maintaining and increasing our combat power against Japan.

Without in any way reducing our share of the war compared to the war efforts of the United States, we can free up part of our manpower reserves to increase the production of civilian goods.

We will be able to somewhat diversify the food of the people, speed up the construction of temporary living quarters.

Our progress in this area must necessarily be based in large part on our own resources. However, we believe that in addition to efforts to be coordinated by a single and proportionate program, we will receive assistance from America not only in the form of ready-made materials, but also in the form of ready-made dwellings that will make it possible to satisfy part of our needs, in particular to provide temporary housing. workers of military factories in areas where the military industry was deployed.

These issues are currently being studied in detail with the assistance of experts sent to America by Lord Portal when he was Minister of State Works. It is too early to judge the extent to which manufacturing and shipping capabilities will make it possible to realize this most generous assistance.

However, it can already be reported that the principle of building temporary housing for workers in the military industry, whose houses have been destroyed by bombing, has been recognized. It is an essential contribution to the cause of final victory.

Finally, we have been able to curtail supply programs under the Loan or Lease Act in such a way that you can freely take steps to increase our export trade after the defeat of Germany, since this trade will be absolutely necessary for us after the end of war, when, naturally, the present system of lending or leasing law will cease to exist.

I am well aware that the members of the House of Commons are eager to hear a detailed account of what our position will be.

The defeat of Germany will make it possible to reduce in some parts of the supply under the law on loan or lease. We had the necessary materials at our disposal to provide for these changes and work out the basis for a new program that would come into force at the beginning of 1945.

Thus, as of this date, we will no longer receive on loan or lease any finished goods for civilian consumption in the UK destined for the export trade. The supply of many types of raw materials and semi-finished products, such as cast iron, steel and some non-ferrous metals, is also being stopped.

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Therefore, in accordance with the "White Book" in 1915, we will be able to import a diverse range of goods made from these materials. Of course, we have not exported and do not intend to export materials that are really scarce, except in those cases when the export of these materials is necessary for the successful conduct of the war.

However, until the end of the war with the Germans, there can be no significant redistribution of our resources. After the defeat of Germany, all our efforts must be devoted to the struggle to defeat Japan.

After the defeat of Germany, it will be possible and necessary to divert more and more of our resources to meet the needs of the civilian population and strengthen our export trade.

As a result of recent negotiations with US troops regarding supplies under the Lending or Leasing Act after the defeat of Germany, export trade will be limited only to those necessary in the interests of the war against the Japanese.

There was no question of re-exporting any goods we received under the Loan or Lease Act. In the future, we will not receive at all under the law on the transfer of loans or leases of finished products that we export. We will have to pay for all such goods. With regard to the supply of those raw materials that are still subject to the loan or lease law, the volume of these supplies is limited to what we need for the production of weapons domestically and for the normal functioning of our wartime economy.

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We will pay cash for any goods we wish to receive additionally from the United States for re-export. Therefore, one of the worries about our position in the future has now been eliminated.

Exporters can now begin to draw up their plans, confident that they will be able to implement these plans with a minimum delay after the defeat of Germany frees up manpower, production capacity and materials.

I would like to make one small remark. The recently published White Paper on British aid to the United States and the President's latest report on the implementation of the Lending or Lending Act give a vivid picture of the unity and interdependence between the efforts of the two great Atlantic powers.

Never before have both sides shown such a complete understanding of the economic situation and tasks of Great Britain and the United States, and if we start from the same facts, why can not people, inspired by good intentions, come to the same conclusions?

Editor-in-Chief: Press Officer of the British Embassy in the USSR