MEAT EXPORTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 204, 29 August 1934, Page 11

MEAT EXPORTS.

EFFECT OF QUOTA.

DOMINION'S ALTERNATIVES

TRADE TREATY WITH U.S.A.

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, Tuesdav

"If Britain refuses imports, then she cannot export," said the president of the Xew Zealand Sheepowners and Farmers' Federation, Mr. H. D. Acland, in an address to the annual meeting to-day. He suggested that Xew Zealand must seriously consider negotiating a reciprocal trade treaty with the United States.

A most awkward situation had been reached in trade relations between New Zealand and Great Britain as a result of the quota system introduced at Ottawa. Mr. Acland said. It appeared that, in its anxiety to aesiet the British farmer, t>ho British Government had lost sight of the necessity for maintaining the food supply of Britain as far as possible from Empire sources. The reciprocal trading arrangements made with the Argentine and Denmark since the Ottawa Conference were cases in point. Aβ a result, the Argentine had been given practically Dominion status, but without the obligation, which the Dominions had been glad to shoulder in the past, of being considered part of the great British Imperial family in times of both war and peace.

The Dominions, said Mr. Acland, would be forced to attempt a policy of self-preservation through reciprocal trade treaties with foreign countries, preferential treatment with regard to tariffs would have to be extended to foreign countries, as an inducement to them to take that proportion of Xew Zealand's primary produce which Britain refused to admit. It would be mil eh more difficult for the British manufacturer to hold the Dominion markets for British exports, and, apart entirely from any question of Imperial sentiment, and viewed solely from a business viewpoint, would be disastrous both to the Dominions and Great Britain herself.

"There is a limit to which British agriculture can be encouraged by subsidies and restriction of competition," Mr. Acland continued. "The consumer in Britain must find the cash for tiic subsidy or the increased price for food products, and his ability to pay this will be measured by the amount of overseas trade which can be maintained by Britain for her manufactured goods. Overseas interest payments must be lowered as a result of the present British policy, overseas purchasing' power must be reduced in proportion, while British shipping and financial interests must ultimately face a drastic readjustment. •'Speak Plainly to Britain. ,, "However, if Mr. Elliot's policy is persisted in, it would appear to be necessary for us in Xew Zealand to readjust our ideas, at least in the meantime, with regard to our exports of meat and dairy products." There appeared to bo two alternatives. We could speak plainly to Britain and explain our position with respect to the possible inability to meet our debt service commitments except by the expanding of output of primary produce. The British Government might appreciate that, with Xew Zealam l supplying only approximately 2J> per cent of beef products consumed in Great Britain, a 10 per cent, or even a 25 per cent reduction would be of infinitesimal advantage to British farmers. The other way was for producers in the Dominion to meet the situation as far as possible, with a view to giving the British Government every chance of trying out its new policy, by endeavouring to reduce the weight per carcase for export to an average which would take up the margin of gross weight by which exports had to be reduced.

Delegation to Washington ? Having explained this proposal, Mr. Acland continued: — "These two alternatives might be worthy of consideration as between ourselves and our British market. The only further alternative appears to be that we should endeavour to open markets for our meat and other products outside Britain. The Prime Minister and his colleagues interviewed Mr. Roosevelt with this object in view on their way back to New Zealand from the Economic Conference. At that time' the United States law prohibited the making of trading agreements with foreign countries for the importation of foodstuffs into America, but legislation has since been passed authorising the President tc enter into such agreements.

"Until the British Government has definitely decided to what extent it intends to restrict imports of our produce, we are not in a position to know how much margin we may expect to have for export to other countries. In addition, until our tariff schedule has been ratified by Parliament, no basis for discussion from a tariff point of view will be available. Serious consideration must be given to the advisability of sending representatives to the United States with a view to arranging, if possible, reciprocal trade relations.

"The British market is of much greater value to us than any foreign market could possibly be," Mr. Acland concluded. "Good will between ourselves and our principal market is a priceless asset, and should not be dealt with lightly."