Alphabet Of Protection

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29775, 19 March 1962, Page 8

Alphabet Of Protection

In tabular form. Mr P. G. Elkan, in his paper on "New Zealand's Butter and Cheese in the European Economic Community,” shows the methods by which public authorities in the E.E.C. and the four prospective member countries affect wholesale, re. tail, exiport and import prices for unprocessed milk, butter and cheese. For each method used he has devised a symbol, which appears in the appropriate column of his table. The key to his 19 symbols, which read like an "alphabet of protection,” is:— B=bilateral long - term foreign trade contracts. C=customs duty. D=price discrimination between various outlets (eg. milk for liquid consumption and manufacturing milk) with pooling of the receipts and/or equalisation levies and supplementary payments. E=export subsidy from public funds. F=price fixing. G=price guarantee on a fixed volume of sales, implemented through deficiency payments from public funds. L=export subsidy financed from levies on domestic sales. M=virtual state monopoly of foreign trade (with private firms employed as agents under precise instructions).

m=licensing of firms engaged in foreign trade. O=marketing organisation (board) with monopsony/ monopoly rights. P=duty-free entry of preferred imports (Common - wealth and Irish produce to the United Kingdom and Dutch cheese to Belgium). * Q=quantitative regulation of imports and/or import licensing. R=approved price range or target price, maintained by market and storage operations of public institutions. S=snbsidy on the product. s=subsidy to particular producers (e.g. hill farmers). T=sales tax or municipal eales levies for general revenue. V=minimum import price maintained by means of a variable levy. W=support of a minimum domestic price through temporary suspension of imports. Z=allocation of sale or purchase sones within the country. . The United Kingdom has the symbols DGOsZ undethe column “unprocessed milk,” and the symbols CP under the columns “Imports of butter,” and "Imports of cheese." The most highly "decorated” country in the table is Norway, whose entries read as follows: Unprocessed milk: DORSsZ Wholesale butter and cheese: FS. Retail butter and cheese: FST. Exports of butter and cheese:

LOS. Imports of butter and cheese CQ.