WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL IMPORTS?

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 144, 14 December 1940, Page 10

WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL IMPORTS?

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —A great many letters and some reports of meetings have appeared in your paper from time' to time dealing with the import restrictions. It has been rightly pointed out that import restrictions commenced before the war period and up to this date have no real connection with the war. Import restrictions were instituted because of the shortage of sterling funds and it seems obvious that the same reason still exists. There is, however, another aspect of the matter which would settle a great deal of the criticism and discussion if the Government would disclose the real position by publishing two lists of products—the first list to contain those articles which the British Government as a war measure has licensed and released raw materials for production exclusively for export and which list obviously must contain the articles which the British Government consider to be essential exports as a war measure; the second list to contain a list of articles which the Government claims are non-essential imports. The publication of these two lists would at once disclose how far the New Zealand Government has camouflaged its drastic import restrictions by making a general use of the term "non-essential imports" and doing so in a manner which suggests to the public of New Zealand that there is a measure of agreement between the British Government and the New Zealand Government as to the articles to be classified non-essential imports. The very fact that the British Government has licensed motor vehicles for export and that the New Zealand Government has placed complete prohibition on such importations surely provides an outstanding example in regard to the point raised by me above. It is high time the Government came out from behind its smoke screen in these matters. The Prime Minister's statement to the effect that Mr. Nash was 100 per cent, correct in regard to these matters of non-essential imports will not stand analysis by people with intimate knowledge of importations and the viewpoints of the United Kingdom exporters.—l am, etc., H.G.