ABSTRACT
Multilateral trading means that all countries make their purchases wherever they find them cheapest and sell their exports wherever they can, and do not attempt to balance the purchases from one country against the sales made to that particular country. The currency of each country taking part in a system of multilateral trading is exchangeable for the currency of any other country in the system; there is in effect an international money. From this account it is clear that multilateral trade can be of different kinds. The first aim of British policy should be to restore as completely as possible the world-wide multilateral trading system which ruled before the first World War. If no group of countries sufficiently large can be found ready and able to accept these three conditions then the last resort remains open to Britain, as to every other country, of ensuring its essential minimum of imports by bilateral arrangements.
