TARIFF, INQUIRY

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 33, 2 November 1933, Page 13

TARIFF, INQUIRY

Imports of Corkboard FOREIGN DUTY SOUGHT British Firm’s Request A duty of 30 per cent on corkboard coming into New Zealand from foreign sources was.sought by Mr. J. H, Drumjnond, on behalf of Newall’s Ltd-, insulation manufacturers, England, in an application heard before the Tariff Commission yesterday. Mr. Drummond said that by reason of competition from Spain and Portugal, the New Zealand market was practically dead to the British manufacturer. The Comptroller of Customs (Dr. G. Craig) presided, and he had associated .with him Professor B. E. Murphy, Mr. J. B. Gow, and Mr. G. A. Pascoe. Corkboard for cold storage purposes was not manufactured in New Zealand, but was imported in very large quantities per-annum, Mr. Drummond said. The main sources of supply were England, Spain and Portugal, and U.S.A. Until September, 1980, his company enjoyed a reasonable proportion o'f the trade, but in the following month the Spanish and Portuguese manufacturers, finding themselves with tremendous quantities .of material after an unsuccessful effort to corner the world's corkboard supplies, decided to upset the .world market by drastic cutting of prices. Thesame. procedure was being adopted to-day, with the result that the market to English corkboard was practically-dead. Mr* Drummond • asked the commission to compare the existing conditions in Spain and Portugal with those in Great Britain, where, costs of production were higher, and where trade union labour only was employed. Newall’s Insulation Company were technical .advisers, and gave advice free of nil cost relative to the correct method of Erecting cold stores, etc., while the Spanish and Portuguese were mainly concerned with the sale of the material. The British material was considered and recognised throughout Now Zealand as the mo?t suitable and efficient, whereas that of continental manufacture was often of poor quality. Price of Raw Cork, Mr. Drummond said lie had reason to believe that the Portuguese and Spanish Governments imposed an export duty on raw cork shipped to England. He also bellhved that although the Portuguese and Spanish cork' Interests had been unsuccessful In their attempts to corner the market, they had been sufficiently successful to control the price of raw cork in their own countries, so that it was a question whether the British manufacturer could really buy his raw material in an open, competitive market. In reply to a question from Professor Murphy, Mr. Drummond said that the difference between the prices of Spanish and British corkboard was not so much a question of monopoly of the raw material as a matter of labour and other production costs. Mr. Gow; Is Spanish corkboard equal to that made in England?' Mr. Drummond: Quality for quality, yes; but generally you do not get quality in the Spanish .board. He added that generally corkboard in Spain was made-from .waste cork after the best of the sheet bark had been taken off. The general residue went into corkboard. The whole of the raw cork was used in the British board. • Professor Murphy: The other method would be more economic. Mr. Drummond: More economic and less efficient. Professor Murphy: I suppose the refrigerating engineers have sene into this matter, too, and yet they are not buying your stuff? Mr. Drummond:- Quite so, but. they want .to buy It., • Professor Murphy; If it were equivalent price for price, they would? Mr. Drummond; I think the New Zealand refrigerating engineer regards our board sufficiently to give us a little more, but there is too much difference in price. Increasing Costs. Professor Murphy; The difficulty the Government would be faced with in Imposing any duty that would increase refrigerating costs to-day is that there .would be a very strong, influential opinion against it. We have got to look all round these things. Mr. Drummond: I appreciate that, but I. submit there,are bigger issues Involved. Professor Murphy: If you got. 80 par feeut. on these figures,, would not the Spanish boards still cut you out, and the costs of the industry be higher? Mr. Drummond: No, sir; I do not think so. It would cut us out to a point, but we have sufficient confidence in our quality, plus the fact that our egents could be induced to pare their profits. Wo think we would be able to give quite a good account of ourselves. I think to-day we nre considerably over 30 per cent, to the bad, and we .do feel people can be educated and will buy if the margin is not too/ great. ... , , Professor Murphy: This sort of education may be compulsory, but it is not free. There would be an awful howl from the people involved. Educating people in this forcible manner may not be very popular. ‘ Mr. Drummond :i I know that, but Still. ... . ■ At the request of the commission, Mr, Drummond undertook to furnish data for the purpose of comparing the relative merits of British and foreign corkboard. “You see yourself we cannot ’ act without that evidence,” Professor Murphy said. “We cannot take statements without verification. ,We are. r responsible body.” CLAY INDUSTRIES Requests to Commission BRICKS & EARTHENWARE An objection was placed before the commission by Mr.. H. Lowen, representing the National Federation of Ulay Industries, England,, against an application made earlier in the sittings asking for a duty of 20 per cent, on imported silica bricks. It was contended by Mr. Lowen that the high transport packing and insurance charges which must be borne by United Kingdom silica bricks exported to New Zealand in themselves afforded ample and full protection for the New Zealand industry. Mr. Lowen said an application on behalf of the federation had been lodged with tho commission for the removal of the protective duties on fi/re-bricks Imported from the United Kingdom, but. 'at that time it wai not felt neeeseary to pete to bricks, ee was

not anticipated there would be any change from the present position whereby 'United Kingdom silica bricks enjoyed entry into New Zealand free of duty. • Silica bricks Mr. Lowen said, being more'fragile than fire-bricks, were packed in boxes to minimise damage in transit; The heavy transport and packing charges entailed an addition to the United 'Kingdom works price of no less than 170 per cent.' Considered in relation to the c-i-f. price New Zealand port, the transport and packing charges amounted'to approximately 03 per cent, of that price. The recent deflation in the value of the New Zealand pound in terms of sterling, afforded the New Zealand producer a substantial additional protection. This protection the federation considered to be the equivalent of approximately 25 per cent, of the c.i.f. price.

New Zealand Industries.

Maintenance of the present British preferential and general duties of 20 per cent, and 45 per cent, respectively on earthenware, crockery, and flower pots was asked for by Mr. H. R. Adams, of Luke Adams Pottery Works, Christchurch. Mr. Adams also asked that jugs for use with electric elements should be' specifically included in the particular tariff items, He claimed that the protection now given was necessary to enable the company to compete successfully with overseas manufacturers, and, further, that the protection was insufficient fully to compensate for the higher costs of efficient and economical production in New Zealand as compared with, the United Kingdom. Mr. Adams also asked for the reclassification of element supports made of refractory material for electric heating appliances, which were admitted free at present under the tariff interpretation. He urged that the duties be: British preferential, 20 per cent.; general, 45 per cent. Representations were made on behalf of McSkimming and Son, Ltd., Otago, for the retention of the existing duties on sanitary ware, flower spills, and crematorium urns. It was stated that the adjacent deposits of clay and coal were imjiortaiit factors toward the success of the company’s undertaking at Benhar, Otago. Even with the present protection tilie company was working on too small a margin, and any reduction in duty would make manufacture unprofitable. Another point in favour of a retention of the duty was that there were abundant supplies of excellent clays of every description in the Dominion, the use of which would be long delayed if help was not given to the clay-working industry. Further, the presence of a local pottery Industry acted as a check on any tendency to Infiatcuwrjlfijs.