INCREASED DUTIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 208, 2 September 1926, Page 6

INCREASED DUTIES.

\ The iniwr history of the amendments c to the tariff designed :s bolster up ■ £ vhe raoucr body buildinj: industrr in I 1 the Dominion would i>e icterestinsr. 1 1 How vomes ;i tiat ci a tune when : { rcarju;ac*ttirerF tiiruiigiiout the Dominion I , are Cxamouririj: for more protection :n almo?t every brunch of trade, j one a;one succeeds in forcing its claiißr- i R 1 c>d to "jie floor of the House in a I ! bhort and busy sessioc? TariS" ' r ; fakcing is a dansrerous and ' ■ diEtiirbing basiness. unsatisfactory to j i \ne trading commtmiTv here. and j ; objectionable to the exporter. The i 5 j tarifl' is a subject which should 1 I '•'? handled comprehensirelv. not - pt piecemeal. it demands careful I j ■ considcrauon and should have attentioE 1 1 when there 2s adequate time to J ■ ! derote to the probable effect of ' .; revisions, do: rushed through at aj ' j jnament'6 notice. | The prtference g:ven to British cars ! . !i= a settled policr, and the extension , I lof the principle involved in the new c I proposale may iiave something to ! commend it. Out trade with America lis altogether too one-sided., chiefly a= j ! a result of the motor import, but ] I the preference already accorded British i cart, by a duty lTj per cent less on 1 the lowest priced grade than the ( ' American. Enould have been suSciem 3 to enable the Empire trader to capture 1 1 1' the bulk cf t'ue market. That he ' failed to do e>o is plain, and it seems | . ". doubtful if he will prove more successful . tinder tue new scale, though the j ! buyer will have to pay more for jhe ' I i car. The great majority of the ntot.or t ; cars imported to this country are ' ! ■j'-ed primarily for the business concerns j jof their owners—whether farmer or ' trader —and they have become a'■ nec-.ef,EJTy. But the new taxation ib ' based on Ftanpttiary Lines. th-e j ■ asEumption being that the car is a > ? luxury. < ' ■ No extensive btidy-building bueinese 1 har yet been •established in this ' . : country, and :t is doubtful whether J ; even under the high tariff proposed i any very substantial industry wiL , 5 I develop. Tne necessary steel, paints. 1 - i and some of the uphoistermjrs. will > j etil] be imported, and there wiH be ; , ir.ore of assembly than construction ; r abort the work. The heavy import . proposed on bodies is not so useful r a? it appear? on the Furfa.cs. Behind ; 1 bo high a barrier the manufacturer a is secure: there is little Etunulus to induce him to u=* up-to-date methods , of manufacture and marketins —there "I if ample proof of ih:F already — . wberea? with a narrower margin Jn , r his favour he must meet his competitor? cm a more equal footing. ; , Hurrying through a big increase ™ duty on one or two lines in this way 2 is indefensible, and it seems likely »I that the Government will reap the 3 whirlwind next session. The clamour for more protection has been incessant. 1 'and this decision has placed a very 3 lons lever in the hand= of those wbo c are" makin? the demands. When a. i considered and aJJ-embrarinj! tariff Bill come? down it generally find? acceptance, but when the Government shows 3ts j 1 i hand, as it has now done, it invites | 1i a very landslide of demands from | I others who s-eek a higher waJl for their * I own interests. aDd who object to : preferential treatment being accorded ? j one industry.