Coll 17/10(1) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [‎358v] (721/982)

4
Messrs. Whinney, Murray and Co. are the only firm of chartered accountants
in Iraq. Their principal business is at Basra.
British firms are very largely interested in the general import and export
business and have no serious foreign competitors. The principal firms so engaged
are:—
Messrs. Mesopotamia-Persia Corporation, with branches at Bagda
Basra, Mosul, and at several centres in Southern Iraq, as well as in
Persia.
African and Eastern (Near East) (Limited), who are the largest
exporters of Basra dates.
Frank C. Strick and Co.
David Sassoon and Co. (building material).
Birch, Marr and Co. (agricultural machinery).
Andrew Weir and Co.
Fowler and Co.
British participation in other branches of commercial activity covers a wide
field. The Times Printing and Publishing Company owns the Iraq Times, the
only foreign newspaper published in the country, with the exception of a Turkish
newspaper which appears spasmodically. They are also printers and publishers,
as are Mackenzie and Mackenzie, who own the principal bookshop, with a large
and up to date stock of English literature. The capital of the Iraq Racing
Company, which has done much for the improvement of horse-breeding, is largely
British, and its salaried officials are British subjects. And there are British
subjects engaged in such varied occupations as the cinematograph business,
, auctioneering and the sale of motor accessories.
Turning to the question of foreign competition in Iraq, it may be said at
once that there are no signs as yet of any threat from outside to British supremacy
within the country. The foreign holdings in the oil companies can scarcely be
considered as competing with British interests. In the field of transport foreign
shipping and aircraft companies are content to avail themselves of the services
of British firms as agents; and there is only one foreign (American) firm actively
engaged in the date export trade. It would, however, be unwise to conclude that
the position is therefore static in this respect, and that British interests can be
maintained at their present level without effort and irrespective of changes in the
currents of trade and the channels of communication.
In the sphere of Iraq s external communications by sea there have been
patent signs of late of a growing challenge to British predominance from Italian
and Japanese shipping interests. The Lloyd Triestino Company have recently
inaugurated a two-monthly service of cargo steamers between Italian ports and
tfasra, and Japanese cargo vessels are now calling at that port at approximately
PI 1 ° f time ' ]H d ther of t*? 686 services may be expanded if the cargo
„ i 6 ^ 1S 1 fT exten sion, and, indeed, in the case of the Japanese, this
f p J obabl y onl y awaiting a solution of the problem of return cargoes
monthly ^ ° apan ’ smce volume of Japanese exports to Iraq is increasing
Persia 1 co J n E et ^ ors tbe i m P or t trade of Iraq are Japan,
conn fat! and the United States of America, in that order. 4 No other
imports mnsLH^ UCh ^ pe J Cent - of the total im P ort tr ade. Of these, Persian
manufactnrprs- -n^i E 108 ^ carpets, do not compete with United Kingdom
constructionaL’and^ mn ?i con }P etin & tPe supply of sugar, metals (mostly
United Kinprlnm enS k- baS ^ os , t . g roun d in all three classes of goods to the
Iraq • and the Urni-pH^ mab d n g a slight advance in her total import trade with
their’ o-eneral position E j 8 ’ /f 6 cbief su PP liei>s .of motor vehicles, have improved
British position ha* h 11 ^ be8e cases the maintenance or improvement of the
The fio-ures at orpspni^ 11 a JS e ^ x ^ ue to fhc divorce of sterling from gold,
the gold standard hv thJjJ p ^ o? n0t 1 re ^ ect effect of the abandonment of
of American imports will^esult the^om^ thGre ^ Httle d ° Ubt ^ an inCreaSe
insignificant proportions * m P ort tra de has grown in the last four years from
place, after the United Kino-d P erceat agc of 12, and Japan now occupies third
Japanese competition is fplUn 0I p and bn ^ la ’ m . tPe import trade of the country.
Full details of this oomrw a C0 E ntiaes and in most classes of imported goods.
Ot this competition, as it affects the trade of the United Kinldom,