PROTEST AT TARIFF INCREASES

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 142, 12 March 1938, Page 13

PROTEST AT TARIFF INCREASES

Retailers’ Comments On Ultimate Effect On Prices

WOMEN AND CHILDREN PENALISED

Consumers Have To Carry . Burden Of Added Charges

A statement setting out the attitude of retailers toward the recent tariff revision has been prepared by the Wellington Drapers, Clothiers Mercers and Footwear Retailers Association. Ine statement indicates the effect of the tariff increases on the purchasing power of the people, contending that they P ena ' ,se women and children of the country who can least afford to bear the additional cost, and takes exception to the alterations being ma without retailers, with their knowledge o£. the requirements ot the public, being allowed to place before the authorities the. views, experience and advice. . The association records its protest at the inci eases in duty, and particularly at the "blanket” method adopted in regard to the footwear section “because it adds a further burden on an alreay heavily taxed community.” Alterations in tariff, the associatioi states, concern four’sections of the community, and as faii as. s known neither the retailers nor the public have a say. The tab! „ of the tariff in<he House makes it operative at once, and « s ; not in the best interest of business people, who have to make th . commitments many months in advance.

‘■Seeing that most of the statements through the Press appear to be subsiding, many of which were rash, illconsidered, and in some instances glaringly inaccurate, the Wellington Drapers, Clothiers, Mercers and 100.wear Retailers’ Association, after ealm deliberation, deems it advisable to place before the general public some of the true facts as to how the recent tariff revision will affect the people of New Zealand,” the association states. “It would appear that in framing the recent tariff alterations, recourse was not made to all sources of information. Retailers as a whole, while having a genuine regard for New Zealand productions.and being prepared to push them when they are up to the standard of the imported lines, are in a position to judge the requirements of the public, being in direct, contact with all three interested parties—the New Zealand manufacturers, the overseas manufacturers and the buying public. They see samples of both imported and local goods and, comparing prices and <iuality, are able to impartially wh:it the public will demand, and which, in their expert opinion, will give the consumer best value. “As their function is a, retail one and thev exist only to serve the public with wiiat the public demands, wherever manufactured, they claim that it is only fair to the consumer that they should be allowed to place before the authorities their views, experience and advice before the tariff alterations are made. If this procedure were adhered to. we would not be subjectedto changes in tariffs unscientifically designed. which, in endeavouring to protect New Zealand secondary industries, have succeeded in making importation almost prohibitive on account of high duties in respect to certain goods which are not manufactured in New* ■Zealand and other items which we definitely state cannot be economically manufactured here, penalising curiously enough the women and children of this country who can least afford to bear the additional cost.

Silk Hosiery as Example.

"Taking the silk hosiery as an example, the New Zealand manufacturers’ output is, of course, limited and retailers have taken the whole output and still have to import the lines that are in demand to suit the purses of the public, and the new duties on the lowerpriced stockings will hit the people who call least afford it. The bulk of, the stockings sold in New Zealand in the lowerrpriced field from 1/11 to 3/11 are imported and still have to be, and the duties are increased on all present sources of supply except British. It is very doubtful if England can take this business, as she imports huge quantities of these goods herself. A table of the new duties is appended showing the increases (duty and sales tax) from a retail standpoint where the importer is a retailer —drapery sections —and examples of costing.

EXAMPLES SHOWING INCREASE IN COST OF LANDING. \ll amounts are based on £lOO worth of goods. ) <A) CANADIAN GOODS.

“Then take for instance footwear. Compare carefully the following landed''costs. (Space will only permit us to give a few examples, but many more could be given). ( Sandals of Good Standard Quality.—

"The secretary' of the Wellington Manufacturers' Association is reported in the Press of March 4 to have stated: There are at least six-up-to-date fae•orles making sandals in New Zealand o-day, any two of which could prince in the next 12 months more than ouble the requirements and at no inease in pre-tariff prices.’ “First, the footwear retailers of our ;soc!ation would be pleased if the see■.•tary of the Manufacturers’ Assoclaion would write our secretary giving be names of the six up-to-date New Zealand sandal manufacturers. “Secondly, it is safe for the manufac-

turers’ secretary to say that there would be no increase on pre-tarift prices. We will go further and say definitely that there should be a reduction on pre-tariff prices, because when leather and rubber prices were at a ‘World-wide’ high level in 1036, and especially 1937, New Zealand .shoe manufacturers advanced their prices. For the past several months raw material prices have been falling. English manufacturers are now quoting lower prices (based on the fall in the market price). Have the New Zealand shoe manufacturers reduced their prices? With the help of the new tariff and the falling leather market they should be able to do so. “It must bo realised that sandals of the type imported and women’s, fabric and evening shoes (examples of which we give below) cannot be made in New Zealand economically, for the simple reason that footwear of this type is made in England on ‘mass production basis’ in hundreds of thousands each week, and, too, with the raw material .market within their country, while quite a large quantity of our materials have to be imported. “We in New Zealand sometimes have lofty notions and vainly talk of ‘mass production,’ but how can we hope to attain this standard while we have a population of only approximately 1,500,000?

Hardship to Working People. “The shoe retailers of our association do not object to the increase in tariff to 25 per cent, ad valorem nor the impost of 3/- per pair if it applied only to leather shoes and boots, for it fe fully appreciated that New Zealand shoe manufacturers have made wonderful progress in the past few years in the manufacture of men’s and women’s medium grade lea'ther shoes and boots, but to blanket the whole section (with the exception of cbild- ■ ren’s 0-9, clippers and : certain rubbersoled sports shoes) will, in our, opinion, cause hardship among the working , people. “Take another example—women s medium to lower grade shoes for evening wear. These shoes sell in thousands to young New Zealand ivomen and women who cannot afford to pay high prices, and yet they will be hit perhaps harder than any section of the community. It is of no use for the New Zealand shoe manufacturers to claim that they can make these shoes up to the standard of the English article to be retailed at competitive prices, because it cannot be done, and, again, for- the simple fact that they are made in England by the hundreds of thousands on the mass production basis by highly specialised factories.

Examples of Women’s Evening Siwe ’’ Costings.

“We do support the New Zealand manufacturers to the last degree, but we must also consider the consumer, and we know from extensive experience that there are certain articles now penalised whicli can never be made satisfactorily in New Zealand, especially when judged from an economic standpoint. Obviously, then, the working people of this country arc being asked to bear a very heavy present burden in order to establish certain grades of manufactures for which, in our considered opinion, there can be very ° little hope of future economic justification when judged from the point of view of the ultimate cost to th New Zealand consumer. “The New Zealand manufacturer must not become too avaricious nor adopt a ‘dog-in-the-manger’ attitude at the unnecessary expense of his fellow New Zealanders. “At a recent meeting of the executive committee of the Drapers, Clothero, Mercers and Footwear Retailers’ Association. the following resolution wn« adopted:— “ ‘That this association enters its protest at the increases in duty just cominto force, particularly the blanket method adopted in regard to the foot-

wear section, because it adds a further burden on an already heavily-taxed community. Alterations in tariff concern four sections of the community, and, as far as is known, neither t,he retailers nor the public have a say. The tabling of the tariff in the House makes it operative at once, and this is net in the best interests of business people who have to make their commitments many months in advance.’ ”

English gross 6/9 f.o.b. prices 3/4 3/8 5/6. Old landed price 5/6 5/11 9/10/8 New landed price 7/10 8/3 10/11 12/6

Old Tariff. New Tariff. Increase. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Knitted or loekstitehed piece goods of silk or artificial* silk, or with any other material other than wool or hair 11 13 3 19 16 5 8 3 2 .Stationery and paper manufacturing and N.E.l letter books, copy books, cards, menus, programmes, Xmas cards, etc. (also soaps, all kinds) Apparel, clothing and hosiery, etc., viz., (2), (3), (4), (5), hats, caps, hat hoods, etc., millinery (all kinds) Apparel, men's and boys’ overcoats, N.E.l 30 14 4 43 - u 6 8 .1 36 14 4 k 54 15 7 18 1 3 suits, coats, trousers (6), waistcoats and similar articles (6), also hosiery N.E.l other than silk or art. silk .... 43 17 0 60 12 1* 16 15 1 Hosiery, viz., socks and stockings of silk or art. silk 54 11 1 72 5 1 -17 11 0 (B) AUSTRALIAN GOODS. Table cloths, towels, sheets, etc., “knitted or loekstitehed” piece goods ..... 10 0 0 18 3 8 8 3 8 Fancy goods (wool rugs), jewellery, lay figures, etc '. 29 16 9 35 13 4 5 16 7 Textile piece goods, woollens (also blankets of wool) 35 13 0 41 9 10 5 16 10 Leather manufacturing N.E.l, portmanteaux, trunks,'bags ,.... 29 16 9 47 6 5 17 9 8 Apparel, millinery, gloves, hats, shirts, pyjamas, braces, etc., No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 29 16 9 53 . 2 10 23 6 1 41 9 10 47 6 5 5 16 ' (C) FOREIGN GOODS. Knitted or loekstitehed piece goods of silk or art. silk 29 11 8 43 17 0 14 15 4 Apparel (all kinds), also millinery. See Tariff Item No. 136 s........ 79 10 !> 100 19 4 21 8 3

7 x 9 10’s 1 11 x 1 '(JUtlle and maids 2x0 lliigliuli gruss f.o.b. price 1/0 1/11 1/11 2/1 2/11 Previous landed cost .. 2/3 2/11 3/3 3/11 4/11 New lauded ■?ost ..... 2/3 2/11 5/3 C/7 8/3