LOWER TARIFFS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 256, 10 August 1933, Page 3

LOWER TARIFFS

SHEEPFARMER'S VIEW. "MUST DO SOMETHING." (Special to the "Guardian.") CHRISTCHIJRCH, This Day. The necessity for a progressive reduction in tariffs was urged by Mr E. Hay in his presidential address at the annual meeting of the Canterbury Sheepowners' Union last evening. "We have got to do something," Mr Hay declared. "I don't say tariffs should be wiped out all at onw ; but they should be reduced. Britain, our great customer, would look on this as a graceful act on our part, ana the quota blow which is going to fall on us might be very considerably lessened in its severity. This is, I think, one of the biggest questions facing us to-day." . . New Zealand was fortunate m having had her case put so sanely and clearly by her representatives at the World Conference, Mr Hay said. He was glad that New Zealand had for many years given Britain preference in tariffs, but he ventured to say that New Zealand might have to do more. Britain had been wonderfully good in allowing free importations of meat and dairy produce for many years. That was apparently now going to be altered, and the speaker felt that New Zealand should put herself on side by lowering tariffs on British gooas imported here. This would be a good gesture on our part, and it was art opportune time now to do it. Sheltering Behind Tariffs. Some secondary industry captains were against this, where these duties were protecting locally made goods. "Well, I have every sympathy with our secondary industries," said MiHay, "and wish to see them prosper, but there is no no doubt that they have in lots of cases been sheltering behind high tariffs. This has had the effect of making them indifferent in the getting down of costs." If tariffs were reduced, they would be forced t 6 reduce costs, and he was, sure they could do this and still carry on successfully. They should be able to do it, and to compete successfully .with the imported article, which would always have to bear freight and other charges, which gave the New Zealand made article an advantage from the start. "Mr H. I). Acland and Mr W. H. Nicholson stressed these points definitely before the Tariff Commission, and I should like to express on behalf of members, as well as myself, our appreciation of the moderate and reasonable way in which our case was presented," Mr Hay continued. "The soundness of the views expressed will be endorsed by those who know how the primary producers are being crushed between the millstones of high costs and excessively low iirices. On the Same Footing. "All industries in New Zealand should be on the same footing, whether the factory is a town one nraking boots or blankets, or a country one producing butter, cheese, or i-00l and lamb; we are interdependent and must sink or swim together, so far the primary industries alone have been asked to face world conditions of sale and production, but we appear now to have reached the stage when 1 ' it will no longer be possible to maintain a privileged basis of costs of production for our secondary industries; the time has come for our New Zealand manufacturers to face the realities of world trade in the same degree as is the case with primary producers in New Zealand, in fact, money payments for all services must be adjusted to existing currency conditions in the outside countries, or a further depreciation of New Zealand currency must be arranged for." " •