CUSTOMS ANOMALIES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 132, 2 December 1930, Page 13

CUSTOMS ANOMALIES

"IGNORED BY MINISTER"

FIRM OBLIGED TO CLOSE

(By Telegraph.) (Special to "The Evening Post") AUCKLAND, Ist December. Tho position, of local manufacturers who imported their raw materials under a heavy tariff and whose finished product was sold in competition with that of British makers whoso materials wore imported into the United Kingdom free of tax, and whoso product camo into New Zealand at a low preferential rafe, was discussed at a meeting of th 6 Council of tho Auckland Manufacturers' Association. The question was raised by a letter from a hat-making firm in Auckland which forwarded correspondence sent to the Minister of Customs (the Hon. J. G. Cobbe) on 27th November. "We regret that we have to inform you that we are closing down our factory on ,28th November," stated the letter to the Minister. "We are reluctantly compelled to- take this course on account of anomalies which exist as regards the Customs duties we have to pay on our importations and the unfair competition from England and the Continent. These matters have been pointed out to you on many occasions and have been just ignored, so that we have now Teached a climax." ■■ After referring to a previous communication sent on 14th September, 1928, the letter states: "The people's and the country's welfare seems to be no one's business. We make the definite statement that the Customs point a revolver-at the worker's head and say to him that 'you shall not have a job until your employer pays 52* per cent, duty on his raw material.' This very raw material goes' into England duty-freo and comes hero made into hats on which thcro is only 27 per cent, duty. "DUMPING GROUND OF THE ■ UNIVERSE." "On top of.this all hats made in England are made ,of foreign raw material and come out here as British • manufacture. Under the preferential duty New Zealand is a dumping ground of tho universe. Italy is paying a.bounty of 15 per cent, on all hats exported." '' There is a lot of truth in what the firm has written," remarked Mr. J. A. C. Allum."There are certain anomalies in the tariff,'' said Mr.* C. B. Plummer. "Thcro is one class of raw material on which tho duty is 52-J per cent., but I think that that duty was designed to apply to foreign goods,- taking 25 per ,cent. as a basis. The English manufacturer gets his raw materials in free and sends them out hero under a 25 per cent. duty. Dumping comes into the question also. At the end of a winter or summer season at Home a quantity of goods is sent here, and that does not help our manufacturers. The position is really rather serious." "The question of- the British preferential tariff and duty on raw materials is a very serious ouo," remarked Mr. W. Parkinson. "I have no doubt that this has been affecting all- our industries." The president l(Mr. Goorge Finn) suggested that tho matter of tariffs should be referred to the executive with a view to approaching the Government, and this was agreed to. *