WORLD TRADE PLAN

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25345, 19 November 1947, Page 5

WORLD TRADE PLAN

Proposed Tariff Cuts AGREEMENT AT GENEVA (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, November 18. ' New Zealand’s tariff agreements with the United Kingdom are not materially changed by the Customs agreements recently concluded at Geneva.. Details were announced in the House of Representatives to-day. No change has been made by the United Kingdom in existing preferences for New Zealand butter, cheese and other milk products, apples, pears, and seeds. For beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork, and bacon, the preferences for which before the war were put in quotas rather than tariffs, it is intended that such preferential arrangements should be replaced by tariffs and that negotiations to that end should take place as soon as practicable. ) Six Signatories Already New Zealand with some other countries is allowed until June 30, 1948, to sign the agreement and in any case before it becomes effective it must be ratified by Parliament. In the meantime the proposed New Zealand tariff changes are only proposals. “The question of the agreement’s acceptance will receive the careful consideration of the Government before next session,” the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr A. H. Nordmeyer) told the House of Representatives to-day. “Six countries have already signed the agreement. They are Australia, Canada, France, Britain, and the United States, and a group of three who are classed as one—-Belgium, Luxemburg, and the Netherlands.” A statement issued with the new tariff schedules to-day said that the proposals did not materially affect New Zealand’s market Britain.

"It should be made clear that this schedule represents the tariff treatment which we shall extend to the commerce of all other contracting States if and when New Zealand ratifies the agreement,” said Mr Nordmeyer. The Minister said it was not possible to reproduce tariff schedules for all countries represented at Geneva, as these comprised a three-volume publication of some 1600 pages, of which only one copy was available in New Zealand at present. It was proposed as quickly as possible to print the text ot the agreement itself, with the final act and protocol of provisional application and the New’ Zealand schedule, with important extracts from other countries’ schedules.

The agreement requires the endorsement of the respective Governments concerned, which, however, are not committed until their acceptance is notified. Agreement will come into force 30 days after acceptance is notified, but Australia, Belgium, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, described as “key” countries, are empowered to give provisional application to it on January 1, 1948, and have already signed the agreement.

Margins of, Preference An important provision is .contained in Article 29 of the agreement to the effect that on the day on which the charter of the International Trade Organisation comes into force the articles in the agreement relating to the provision of most favoured nation treatment will be suspended and superseded by the corresponding provisions in the charter. In particular, this article provides that margins of preference shall not be increased beyond the levels of those resulting from the negotiations or, where items were not subject to negotiation, the margins obtaining on a base date, which for New Zealand has been fixed at April 10, 1947 A contracting party may withdraw from the agreement on or after January 1, 1951.

The tariff negotiations, according to Mr Nordmeyer, were based on the principle of mutually advantageous concessions. “There was no question of giving away concessions in the form of the elimination or reduction of preferences or otherwise without adequate compensation," said Mr Nordmeyer. “Where preferences were affected due recognition was given to the fact that the country entitled to compensation was the country which suffered a reduction in the preference enjoyed. In weighing up the position in individual items due regard had to be paid to all factors, such as protection for domestic industry and revenue considera-

“Throughout the negotiations particular attention was given by New Zealand to the desirability not only of safeguarding existing markets for our export products but of securing better treatment for our products entering new markets. In so far as our market in the United Kingdom is concerned, the proposals do not affect New Zealand materially.” No change has been made in existing preferences on butter, cheese, condensed milk, whole, sweetened, or unsweetened; milk powder and other preserved milk, not sweetened; apples, pears, seeds. As far as beef, veal, mutton, lamb, pork, and bacon are*concerned, it is the intention, without prejudice to any action which might be necessary to give effect to inter-Governmental commodity agreements, that preferential arrangements should be replaced by tariff preferences. A preference of 10 per cent, is proposed to be eliminated in respect of dried apples, pigs, tongues (preserved in airtight containers) and hog casings of a value not exceeding £lO a hundredweight. Instead of a duty of 7s a hun-dred-weight, foreign honey is to be subject to a duty of 3s 6d a hundred-weight, or 10 per cent., whichever is greater, but not more than 5s a hundred-weight. American Concessions Concessions offered by the United States cover a wide range of New Zealand primary products. In certain instances concessions represent a binding of the existing rate against increases. Under the present legislation in the United States, the maximum reduction possible in existing rates is 50 per cent. The United States has given concessions on beef and veal, mutton lamb, edible offals, and butter. There are no concessions on tallow. There is a general reduction on seeds, peas, and apples. The only wool concession is on fine wool. The duty on hides and skins is unaltered. Other Concessions Offered Some of the concessions offered by other countries are:— Frozen meats.—France: mutton and lamb from 50 per cent, to 35 per cent.; beef, veal, and pork, from 50 to 40 per cent. India: frozen meats generally, from 3J to 20 per cent Oanned meats.—France: from 60 to 35 per cent. India: from 30 to 20 per cent. Butter.—France and India: from 30 to 25 per cent. South Africa: hold at 2d per lb. Cheese.—Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg: hold at 15 per cent. France: reduced from 20 to 15 per cent. India: from 30 to 25 per cent. China: from 35 to 30 per cent. Condensed milk, unsweetened.—Fiance: hold at 10 per cent. China: reduced from 25 to 20 per cent. India: from 30 to 25 per cent." Sweetened.—France: hold at 10 per cent. China: reduced from 25 to 20 per cent. India: from 30 to 25 per cent. Wool.—Free entry bound into Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, France. Czechoslovakia, South Africa, and India. Duty reduced: China, from 10 to 7J per cent. Brazil, for greasy wool over 50’s, a slight reduction. Hides and skins, sheepskins, pelts, rabbitskins, sausage casings, casein, tallow, grass and clover seeds, rennet, kauri gum.—Binding of existing free entry and where dutiable more favourable treatment in many cases. New Zealand Concessions Offers of concessions by New Zealand come under three headings:— First: offers involving a reduction in duty. Second: offers involving the holding of existing rates against increases. Third: offers affecting margins of preference only, without commitments as to rates of duty. The lists cover a wide range of articles. For instance. New Zealand has offered concessions on various dried fruits, some drapery items, linoleum, wool textile piecegoods, clocks, cameras, certain industrial machinery, artificers' tools, and motor-vehicles. Motor-vehicles in completely knocked down condition will still be covered by the British preferential tariff of 5 per cent., but the nrost favoured nation tariff will be 40 per cent., compared with the existing general tariff of 50 per cent. For other motor-vehicles the existing 15 per cent. British preferential tariff remains, but the most favoured nation rate will be 50 per cent., compared with the existing 60 per cent. Articles on which New Zealand binds herself against an increase in duties include cocoa, dates, rice, starch,, carpets, many articles of clothing, and farm implements. The third list includes coffee, tea in bulk, ready mixed paints, engines for motor-vehicles, bicycles, and spirits.