DUMPING DENIED

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 220, 13 June 1933, Page 9

DUMPING DENIED

Japanese Competition in British Markets CONFERENCE SUGGESTED By Telegraph.—Press Assn. —Copyright. (Received June 12, 11.30 p.m.) London, June 12. p Leading Japanese bankers and industrialists, In a letter to the “Daiiy Mail” denying dumping, but admitting that, as Japanese labour costs are so low, it will take the highest duties to exclude Japanese goods, express fear that the growing Anglo-Japanese competition will imperil the good relations existing between the two nations. Therefore, they contend, industrialists and business men of the two countries should meet and seek a mitigation of the competition without harming the industrial or commercial interests of either country. SERIOUS PROBLEM Competition in Australia THE CASE OF TEXTILES The seriousness of Japanese competition in manufactured products in the Australian market is the subject of an article by Mr. A. C. Wilcox in the “Sydney Morning Herald.” Only those actually engaged in handling merchandise realise the extent to which Japanese productions have ousted British and Continental goods, says Mr Wilcox. The rate at which this has been progressing is little short of astounding. He refers in his article only to textiles, though practically all classes of merchandise are experiencing similar conditions. As far as competition with textiles produced In Australia is concerned, there is not much trouble. Thanks to prohibitive rates of duty, Australian textiles seem to have but little to fear. Nor would there be much cause to complain if Japanese goods were merely ousting the goods of other foreign countries. Japan Is a very good customer of Australia’s, and reciprocal trading must be one of the great achievements of the World Economic Conference, if any great progress is to be recorded. But when we find that Japanese textiles are ruthlessly competing with the products of Great Britain, it is_ high time the matter was considered in all Its bearings.

Lancashire Beaten.

Japanese silk products have for long played an important part in the textile markets. This is natural enough, since Japan produces vast quantities of raw silk. With the introduction and perfectioning of artificial silk, it looked as if Japan would lose a considerable portion of her silk trade This would have been the case but for the heavy fall in the price of raw silk. But alongside her real silk trade, has now become one of the great ex porters of artificial silk piece goods (very largely at the expense of Great Britain), and at prices that European manufacturers cannot possibly Co ®P et ® with, even with a preferential du>ty in favour of British goods. Also in the case of cotton goods, we findl thatt Japa Is now monopolising much of the trntte that formerly went to n Japanese calicoes, ‘ ettes, towellings, as well as cotton, dresb coods, both plain and printed, aie no bulking largely in ' all while those in business know that hard ly a week goes by without some fiesi Tananese production coining to their siaht by a long way. This state of affairs has been brought about by the great progress Japan made during the war, . introduction of the latest machinery, but principally by the extrenle y 1 o cost of labour in Japan and the fall or the yen. The yen, nominally worth 941 pence, is now only quoted at 18 Australian pence or 144 Englishi pencA When it is remembered that even sterling has fallen about thirty per cent since September, 1931, it will more easily be seen how much the yen has depreciated, and what an ™P° lt ant part its fall must play on internal costs when those costs are translated into currencies which have not suffered such a-great setback, provided there is a super-abundance of labour to work on. It is idle to blame merchants for buying Japanese productions to the exclusion of British. Sentiment, in spite of all that has been said to the contrary, still plays an important part in business, but beyond a certain point it cannot go. When goods of apparently equal merit vary in price by twenty to thirty per cent., every merchant must buy the cheape. line or go out of buslIt becomes therefore a matter that our Governments must face, and they will do so all the more readily and thoroughly if the public realise the position and are alive to the dangers. Demand for Cheat)* ss. The demand of to-day is for cheap merchandise. This is more the case at the present time than ever before, at least as far as this generation of traders is concerned. Hard times demand that every shilling shall be made to go as far as it possibly can, and. certainly Japan is delivering cheap goods. But cheap goods may prove very dear if by their continued purchase permanent harm is done to far and away the best customer Australia has or is ever likely to have. Japan buys chiefly our wool and is a valued client in the Wool Exchange. She buys it because she wants it and cannot get it cheaper elsewhere. But Great Britain buys far more wool than Japan, and, in addition, takes a host of other products, such as meat, fruit, butter, etc., that no other country will take at all. except in very small quantities. But besides being far and away our best, and in some cases our only, customer, this Commonwealth is bound to the Mother Country by other than commercial ties. Where is our defence apart from the Empire? Wha' other country will stand by us financially? We cannot, we dare not, stand idly by and do nothing when the trade of the Empire’s very heart is being taken from her hy means of depreciated currencies and the lowest labour conditions.