Aussie Accuses U.S. on Trade

Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke charged today that his country’s farmers are falling victim to a transatlantic trade war, but President Reagan pledged to watch out for Australia’s interests while combatting European agricultural subsidies.

Hawke, addressing a joint meeting of Congress, said Australia’s producers are finding themselves “squeezed out of markets by practices which distort prices and levels of production.” As a result, he said, the U.S. share of the world wheat market has climbed from 29% to 43% while Australia’s slumped from 20% to 12%. “Australia must not be given to believe that while we are first-class allies, we are, in trade, second-class friends,” Hawke said.