CHEAP GOODS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 238, 7 October 1936, Page 8

CHEAP GOODS.

EMPIRE IMPORTS. < GRAVE CONCERN EXPRESSED. UNFAIR COMPETITION. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. A remit expressing grave concern at the increasing importation into the Empire of low-priced goods from countries with low standards of living, and urging His Majesty's Governments to lay before the next Imperial Conference the seriousness of such competition, moved at the congress of the Empire Chambers of Commerce yesterday by Mr. Granville Gibson (Leeds). Discussion on the remit was continued to-day.

Mr. Gibson spoke of what he had seen quite recently personally in Japan —factories as efficiently staffed as any in Britain, taught by people from Britain and Europe, built by loan and in some cases by the Government itself, tax free, and afterward handed over to private enterprise to compete unrestrictedly with British countries, though manned at wages and under conditions that would never be tolerated in British countries.

Mr. Gibson commended what had already been done in Australia in the way of tariff restrictions. Restrictions had been imposed also to some extent in Britain, and these restrictions were a very real help to British industry. Mr. MeGowan (Wellington) seconded the motion. He said lie believed the greatest competition in New Zealand came from Japan. Old Machinery Modernised. Mr. Percy Ainley (Huddersfield) strongly supported, the resolution. He explained how Japan had established factories with British machinery, supervised for a short period with British expert teaching. She never required spare parts for machinery, at lirst lilling her necessary requirements from blacksmith's shops and now from modern engineering factories. She bought old machinery and made it modern, and now was a real menace. Mr. A. H. Ross (Auckland) pointed out that Japan was a great nation of 60,000,000 'people, and was increasing rapidly, and had to expand. She posses-sed a lirst-class navy and a great army and was very powerful in the air. He took the view that Japan's cheap goods had increased the standard of living of British purchasers. He asked was the resolution not just another turn of the screw of economic nationalism. The world would never be prosperous again till international trade resumed something like its old volume, and he asked the Congress to be consistent and vote the resolution out.

Mr. Hooper (Brisbane) said Australia had taken the right step in loading cheap Japanese goods with a tariff that was really prohibitive. Britain should take a leaf out of Australia's book. We could not blame Japan if she improved her machines and operatives, so that we could not compete with her. It was time we looked for a beam in our own eye, arid put our house in order. Until that was done the resolution met with his approval. Mr. E. S. Leatherby (Plymouth) quoted an instance in Britain of a tariff being placed against Japan and a ring being formed among British manufacturers to put up their price. The prices would have gone up had one manufacturer not put his foot down and broken the ring. When a committee went to a Government and asked for a tariff or an increased tariff they should also see that the Government delat in no uncertain manner with those likely to form rings and combines to keep up artificial prices. More Poverty in England. Mr. Spencer Watts (Sydney) said they had imposed duties in Australia, but it had had 110 effect, and did not benefit Britain. Japan had to import as well as export. The standard of living in the industrial areas in Japan was not below those of other countries. He saw more poverty, dirt and ill-nour-ishment in some British industrial areas than he saw in Japan. Mr. Granville Gibson: Nonsense. That is not true. , Mr. Watts moved an amendment to omit from the resolution the words, "From countries with low 1 standards of living." Mr. F. W. Cook (Dudley) seconded. He said he thought they were 011 the wrong lines. Britain turned out the world's best goods. In cheap goods' Japan was supreme. He recalled Germany as the former producer of cheap goods, not Britain. It was a question of organisation and pulling together. British manufacturers were fighting each other, and so also were the workers.

Mr. W. B. Darker (Adelaide) moved to carry the resolution with the following one to read as follows: "That thiti congress views with grave concern the increasing importation into the British Empire of low-priced goods, and being aware that conditions of labour and wages in some foreign countries do not give a fair competitive opportunity to Umpire producers, urges His Majesty's Governments to lay before the next Imperial Conference the seriousness of such competition." This met with general approval and the congress. passed on to the next business.