JAPANESE GOODS

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 97, 21 October 1932, Page 8

JAPANESE GOODS

UNDESIRABLE EFFECT

LABOUR PROTEST

The complaints being made in various parts of the Dominion against the competition from Japan on the local markets were echoed in the House of Representatives to-day by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. H. E. Holland). Mr. Holland said he had received several communications on the subject, and he considered that the Government should take action to protect the standard of living of' the worker in New Zealand from Japanese, competition. The United Kingdom manufacturers and the New Zealand Representatives' Association had drawn attention to the serious effect upon some of the British key industries caused by the importation of goods from Japau and produced under conditions of cheap labour and a lower standard of living and imported 'into New Zealand with the' advantage of a currency depreciated nearly 40 per.cent, as against twelve months ago. A Wellington firm had written to him protesting that Japan was making enormous inroads into the import trade of the Dominion, and had stated that there was hardly a line of goods one could mention that Japan was not producing at about one-fifth of the cost of a similar -article made in England. It was pointed out that a large percentage of goods made in Japan consisted of copies of registered and patented British goods, and that they were not even branded with the country of origin. It was contended that the Dominion Customs tariff gave Japan abou.t 45 per cent, advantage over British goods. Mr. Holland said that 80 per cent, of the factory workers in Japan were women and girls, and although the hours of labour had been reduced as the result of Japan's agreement with the Geneva Convention, the wage standard was low. In the silk and cotton industries certain operatives received between 2s and 2s 6d per day, and it was doubtful .if any industrial worker in Japan • received 8s per day. In addition, Japan had the advantage of a depreciated currency. , It had been stated that it took more than a Customs tariff to deal with this problem.