Britain’s abandonment of free trade in 1931 prompted a meeting at Ottawa of delegations from around the empire to devise new arrangements for intra-imperial trade. Britain was keen to keep or gain privileged access to empire markets, but it was reluctant to meet the desire of empire countries such as New Zealand for privileged access to its market, given that it was a global trader. It did in the end exempt some New Zealand products from import duties, and in return New Zealand agreed not to promote ‘inefficient’ secondary industries. This photograph shows New Zealand delegates Gordon Coates (back, right) and W. Downie Stewart (front, left), with Australian delegates H. S. Gullett (back, left) and S. M. Bruce (front, right).