BRITISH TRADE

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 123, 26 May 1928, Page 11

BRITISH TRADE

.*- HAND OF OPPORTUNITY NEW ZEALAND PREFERENCE (From "The Post's" Representative.) ! LONDON, 2nd March. ■ Mr. Dougla3 Hacking, M.P., Secretary of the Department of Overseas Trade, was the principal speaker at a luncheon given by the Incorporated Sales Managers' Association at _ the White City. The importance of hisspeech to New Zealand was his reference to the new tariffs of tho Domindon. On tho same evening his remarks were broadcast by the 8.8.C. Responding to the toast of "Tho Department of Overseas Trade," proposed by Mr. F. W. Goodcnough, chairman of the association, Mr. Hacking expressed the opinion' that British salesmen were as good as any in tho \vorld._ lie did not, he said, desire to bo critical, but possibly wo'fell short of other countries in one respect, and that was, in our knowledge of foreign languages. Ho emphasised the increasing importance of languages to salesmen whom increase of business took into more remote parts of the world. Speaking of the revision of the Now Zealand Customs Tariff, lie said it was a. revision which had given us a most practical expression'of Empire partnership. New Zealand, in her new tariff, had substantially increased tho margin, of, preference on over 200 items of British manufacture. Translated into terms of the annual export trade of this country, and as far as one could estimate, it meant that we should now sell to New Zealand two million pounds' worth more per annum than we should have done under the old tariff, and in two or three years our oxports should increase by £4,000,000 to £5,000,000 annually. As a Lancashire man ho would like his country to take advantage of the new position in New Zealand. As from Ist'July all piece-goods of cotton, linen, jute, 'hemp, silk, artificial silk, and combinations of those materials, including table cloths/napkins, towels, quilts, sheets, etc., would enter Now Zealand free of duty, and tho margin of preference ha cl been increased to 15 per cent. .-,...:,. IMPROVEMENT IN TRADE. Another market where wo1 might improvo our sales was, he considered, that of tho' United States in connection with those British' products upon which thero was1 no duty; for example, leather,, boots, and shoes. . Thero was a rapidly increasing import trade in. those article's, of which we were not, he considered, getting our fair percentage. An improvement in trade was noticeablo in tho construction and repair of motor vehicle's, cycles, and aircraft, and in the silk, luce,-and musical instrument industries. . In those industries tho estimated number of -workpeople employed ■ in January, .1926, was about 275,000; in January this year the total was calculated at about 306,000, or an increase of approximately 30,000. It. was interesting to note that all those industries were protected under the Safeguarding of .Industries or kindred Acts. The chairman, Sir William J. Larke, proposing the health of "The Visitors," said that the .Dominions were now starting a number of industries which might, at first, appear to bo competing with our own. It.had to bo realised that that was. only the natural expression of developing nationhood, and it was for manufacturers, in. this country to approach those industries, not in the spirit of competitors, but in the spirit of co-operators, and tso ensure that the Empire might become, as it was potentially, the .greatest economic factor that tho world had.ever.seen. : THIS FREE-WILL GIFT. ' Commenting1 on the speech in a leading article, the "Daily Telegraph" says:' . "Many British manufacturers will find tho tariff-wall completely levelled to. tho ground when they send their goods to Now Zealand, while their foreign rivals will still bo faced with a duty of 15 per cent. This applies to electrical goods, to cottons, linens, jute, and silks. The .significance or! this free-will gift is enhanced by tho fact that New Zealand is by far tho largest buyer of British goods per head of population in the whole world, and wo may interpret this as a part return for the marked "fillip which has been given to tho consumption of New Zealand dairy products in this country owing to the well-directed efforts of tho Empire Marketing Board. Only a jaundiced eye sees in this development a blow at the interests of tho British farmer, when, we are importing so many million pounds'.worth of dairy products from European countries —not to speak of eggs from China—much of which we could,just as well produce at homo or just as Veil''buy from British Dominions oyerseas."