(2 of 2)
Belgian prices rose 3% in the first half of 1969, after staying almost unchanged through 1968. The rate of increase is leveling off now, but on Jan. 1 Belgians will begin paying a value-added tax.
European governments are adopting varying degrees of economic stringency to fight the inflationary trend. Only in Britain, however, has austerity been pushed hard enough to slow inflation; the rate is down to 4.5% this year from 6% in 1968. Britain's example is hardly comforting. The country's unemployment rate in August rose to 2.5%, the highest for that month since 1940, and fears of a sharp recession this winter are growing. Other countries' hopes for restraining inflation without recession depend in great part on how quickly the U.S. cools its overheated economy. U.S. inflation has caused imports to rise, and they include much European production that is needed to satisfy consumer demand on the Continent. To a remarkable degree, the U.S. fight against inflation has become a prime concern of every industrial country in the free world.