LICENSING OF IMPORTS

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27734, 11 August 1955, Page 7

LICENSING OF IMPORTS

REVISED FORMULA SOUGHT MANUFACTURERS’ AIM OF STABILITY « (From Our Own. Reporter) HANMER SPRINGS, August 9. To give long-term stability to the industry, the New Zealand Textile and Garment Manufacturers’ Federation is seeking a revised formula for regulating import licences within the present licensing framework. Representations to the Government along these lines will be made by the council of the federation, according to a statement released from the federation’s annual conference today. “The move is designed to give a much more settled atmosphere in which the industry could plan constructively for the future without being subjected to controversial annual reviews and short-term fluctuations, said the statement. “It would enable the industry to play its full part in maintaining a smooth and adequate flow of consumer goods to the New Zealand market. “Imports of the main classes of clothing have shown a steady increase in recent years,” the .statement said. “In 1949, the imports at current values in country of export were £1,018,000; in 1951 £1,614,000; and in 1954 £2,496,000. The lastmentioned figure represented, on the basis of landed prices compared with local ex-factory prices, approximately 10 per cent, of the total market. In the first quarter of this year, the imports reached a record figure of £967.000 compared with £546,000 for the first quarter of 1954. This record figure represented an annual import rate in excess of £5,000,000, or about 15 per cent, of the domestic market. “The conference remained unconvinced that the replacement of the import licensing system by tariffs could realistically or accurately regulate the volume of imports in a manner consistent with a policy of safeguarding worth-while New Zealand industry,” the statenwnt said. “This opinion was strongly expressed after an examination of samples from an Eastern source, and the quotations for their supply to the New Zealand market.’”