IRON AND STEEL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 186, 8 August 1935, Page 7

IRON AND STEEL.

British Customs Duties to

Be Reduced.

AGREEMENT WITH CARTEL.

(British Official Wireless.) (Received 11.30 a.m.) RUGBY, August 7. On the recommendation of the Import Duties Advisory Committee, a Treasury order under the 1032 Act has been issued which reduces from to-morrow, for five months, Customs duties on certain iron and steel products to 20 per cent ad valorem. The report of the committee and the order follow upon an agreement reached between the British Iron and Steel Federation and the Continental Steel Cartel a fortnight ago, the effect of which will be ,to limit iron and steel imports into the United Kingdom from the cartel countries to 670,000 tons in the first year and 525,000 tons in each subsequent year, and to secure for British iron and steel exports the same proportion of the total export trade of the contracting parties as they constituted in 1934, with allowances in excess of this quota. The Advisory Committee has reported that the agreement will prove of great value. It is pointed out that the satisfactory operation of the agreement is held to require the institution of a svstem of licensing, but this is a matter of Government policy calling for legislation.