Import Tsar

Premier Thorvald Stauning, a strapping Social Democrat with a beard as big as Santa Claus's has been asking and fighting for iron control of Danish imports by the State. Last week both houses of the Danish Parliament gave Premier Stauning what he wanted as an early Christmas present.

Good for one year only, the new legislation makes Minister of Commerce C. N. Hauge virtually Denmark's Tsar of Imports. Advised by 13 representatives of agriculture, commerce and industry, he will dictate the rationing of foreign exchange (through the National Bank) to Danish importers. Thus if a Dane wants to buy a German Mercedes, the Import Tsar at his discretion can block the exchange transaction and may thus switch the sale to another country, by intimating for example that he would facilitate the purchase of a British Rolls-Royce.

Essentially the new Exchange Law is designed to give Premier Stauning power to bargain with Great Britain when a Danish delegation goes to London this month "to save Denmark's butter, egg and bacon trade." These and other Danish farm products must be saved from too drastic application of the Ottawa Conference tariff accords or Denmark will find herself cut off from her best customer.

At the U. S. Legation in Copenhagen last week officials, sympathetic with Denmark's plight, said off the record that the Danish National Bank has for some time been informally discriminating against U.S. exports. Such action probably violates the U. S.-Danish most favored nation treaty, but Washington has made only cautious, informal protests. Reason: a squabble now would merely embitter U. S. Danish relations, would make it harder for President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt to make a success of his policy of tariff bargaining with foreign nations.

This year Denmark's total imports have dropped 20%, but her imports from Britain are up 15%--due probably to her National Bank's covert activities. Danish importers found comfort in one provision of the new import laws last week: although they can be forced to buy where the State pleases, the State cannot cut the total imports of a Danish middle-man in 1933 to less than 45% of his total imports in 1931.

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