DUTY EASED?

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 74, 29 March 1932, Page 7

DUTY EASED?

NEW ZEALAND BUTTER

Canadian Rate Reported to Be

Coming Down,

AUSTRALIAN LEVEL. (United P.A.—Electric Telegraph—Copyright) TORONTO, March 28. A dispatch from Ottawa to the "Toronto Globe" states that Canada's new trade agreement with New Zealand will be announced this week, probably as part of the Budget speech by the Minister of Finance, Mr. E. N. Rhodes, on Thursday. The report that a snag has been struck in regard to butter ie officially denied. The rate of the duty on New Zealand butter entering Canada will be 5 cents a lb, the same as on Australian butter. This rate is considered to be ample for the Canadian producers, especially as Canada-is now on an export basis.

The duty on Australian butter entering Canada has been 5 cents a lb since those two Dominions made a new trade treaty in July, 1930. At the eame time a British preferential auty of 8 cents a lb was fixed, in which New Zealand shared, and still shares. A trade ugreement between New Zealand and Canada was arranged at a conference at Honolulu, which terminated early last January between Mr. W. Dowuie Stewart, New Zealand Minister of Customs, and Mr. H. H. Stevens, Canadian Minister of Trade and Commerce. This was subject to ratification by the Parliaments of both countries. Since then there has been delay in connection with the matter, and representations have been made to Mr. Stewart on the subject. Early this month he intimated that eome delay had occurred at the Canadian end owing to pressing political problems taking precedence.