EMPIRE TRADE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 219, 16 September 1930, Page 8

EMPIRE TRADE.

v Last year New . Zealand imported * , forty-nine million pounds worth of , goods.- Of this total thirty-tlivcc millions came 1 , from within the, Empire. On £25,000,000 of this. latter • iigu/c, to ireaiori s-:bf Now Zcalsnd,S, ,p« [ system of preferential taiiiT, favour of Empire goods, Jw.teK, countries were given the _ neneii of duties on similar goods of loreijn • origin ranging from 10 per cent to - . per cent. In other words New Zealand ■ | • gave a trading advantage to BntisH I countries of at least £2,500,000 on.a, I conservative estimate.- Of - the total.. I . imports i Great Britain herself so > twenty-four millions pounds worth, i 8 the preferential tariff in favour oi | British goods were removed, it is que* ' tionable how much of New • | trade Great Britain would continue to _ i hold selling on a nice parity * . other competing nations. A i ,u i impost levied on New Zealand is that m , many cases the prices she pays for, Jin* , tish goods are .higher .than the charges »• Britain makes, . when.; selling, similar, ■ | : goods in other foreign; countries whcio j . no protective tariff exists. In 0 g . words Britain, quite rightly and wiere j , possible, scales- up her prices so as io « i take the maximum advantage of ■ .\ | . punitive duties which New Zealand levies | > on foreign countries for the | • benefit. In spite of an additional dut. J » of 20 per cent charged on-foreign.goo t * these countries sold dutiable articles. " i • New Zealand last year to the value _ | • nearly £8,500,000. The effect of-these j ■ commercially unreciprocated coneessi g to Great Britain is that the a 1 Zealand primary producer Has w g bear an additional national g head charge, his costs are - tw»£ I fore correspondingly higher, ai na \. - | profits derived from the sale' of lus g g overseas less. It has been suggested I if New Zealand was buying hcr. nmnu g factured requirements on a free trao | basis, she would save in * I bourhood of £4,000,000 per annum, . i it is considered that the totalpop' •' | of New Zealand is under 1,500,000, a | the cost.of maintaining Government J vices' and debt interest is approx . l £20,000,000, the value of her contn | tion in proportion to her total > | can :be best appreciated. New , i 1 to-day can no longer afford to e*t® these financial concessions unl? | receives a corresponding reciprocal tr a , g ment. New Zealand sells her f to Great Britain on a world parity | Every influence exists to depre .J price received" by reason of ,1 strictcd competition from similar g' ? :J allowed in from other countries f J whom Britain receives little or no r ,| procal trading, or with a of living and therefore lessei p: ro( J ■ g costs. Not only the New Zealand fag H but the whole people < of .Jew | suffer accordingly. The Ne , a 1 dairy farmers are now moving to pu | stop to tliis manifestly uneconomic p , | cedure." They are organising with :g g| intention of demanding a review or fl whole fiscal system of the Domin I and it is to be hoped that Great $ri -,| will readily meet their Tf Great Britain levied a duty ot t ,jj| pence per lb on foreign butter, a.nd ||| pennv per lb on foreign cheese. would allow New Zealand to sell whole of her dairy products to »ri and woulcLyicld a sum of . | £2,500,000 as a set oil against the | Zealand tariff. An equitable I trading having once been finalis cd > jffl way would be clear for arranging .tlier concessions for the mutual vantage. English has killed by lack of protection in the p < J and these same conditions which- si in Great Britain are to-day acutely adversely influencing the prosperity ~ g New Zealand and reacting on her w ' g economic system. • ' ■ n CONRAD B. LOGHXEK. - I