"OTTAWA FLOUTED"

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 162, 11 July 1934, Page 10

"OTTAWA FLOUTED"

BRITISH GOODS. TARIFF STILL TOO HIGH. MR, HISEOP'S DENUNCIATION. "The New Zealand people, whether they arc farmers, local manufacturers, importers, or whatever class they may be. will view with great regret the treatment meted out to Great Britain by the new tariff schedule," said Mr. J. Hislop, chairman of the United Kingdom Manufacturers' Association. "It is just 20 years ago, almost to a day that a chancellor of Germany drew upon himself a tirade of abuse, in which New Zealand played no small part, when he referred to a solemn trade treaty as a 'mere scrap of paper,'" he said. Little did New Zealanders think then that within 20 years the same stigma could be hurled at the Government of this country. The Ottawa, agreement has been openly flouted, and the only policy for Great 'Britain now to adopt is to say to this Dominion: 'We will do unto you as you have done unto us.' If this takes place—and there is every likelihood of it taking place next year when schedule 'A' of the Ottawa agreement comes up for review—then the people of New Zealand will perhaps appreciate how much the British market means to them. No Further Conferences? "It is a waste of time to go through the tariff schedule itself. The reductions made in some lines arc merely those put on (i year or two ago for revenue purposes.' jVIr. Coates admits there will be an increase in revenue collected of £00,000. New Zealand's attitude towards the Ottawa agreement will destroy the prospect of any further conferences being taken seriously, and so far as this country is concerned, the Ottawa Conference can be written down as a miserable failure.

"It must be remembered," continued Mr. Hislop, "that British trade is seriously affected, not so much by the low price of imported poods from foreign countries, as by the high of British poods, due to the tariff and exchange. The people have only a limited purchasing jiower, and unless British goods of reasonable quality can be supplied to meet the diminished purchasing power, then British goods are off the New Zealand market. "Speaking as a representative of British manufacturers, we are not so much concerned about closing out the foreigner from the New Zealand market as we are of giving the British manufacturer an opportunity to trade. Advancing the preferential duty will not mislead the British manufacturer, as under article 10 of the Ottawa agreement, Great Britain expressed herself as satisfied with a margin of preference of 20 per cent. "By placing a high enough tariff on Jlis goods, the British manufacturer is automatically kept out. It matters not then what the preference is. You can make the sky the limit, it will make no difference."