Strait Jacket

All U.S. imports were put in a strait jacket last week. Starting July 2, practically nothing can be imported from anywhere without express authorization of the War Production Board. Primary and only ostensible purpose of the new order was to make sure that no precious shipping space is wasted on imports the U.S. can do without. Secondary but studiously unmentioned result is to give the Government an important new weapon of economic warfare.

In Washington there was not even a whisper about what the new order could do to recalcitrant Argentina. But everyone who wanted to look could see two interesting sidelights to U.S. import control: 1) agricultural Argentina has relatively little to export that the U.S. really needs (mostly hides, flax, linseed oil), and of all good neighbors, she has the most that the U.S. can do without; 2) Argentina also has an important merchant fleet of her own, has to that extent been independent of U.S. ships and control. With full U.S. priorities on imports, if Argentina wants to use her own bottoms for U.S. shipments, she will have to use them for what the U.S. wants.

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