IMPORT POLICY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 122, 25 May 1945, Page 6

IMPORT POLICY

SELECTIVE SYSTEM

DOMINION'S STABILITY O.C. HAMILTON,1 This Day. The need for conserving funds made it imperative that exchange control should be continued, said the Acting Prime Minister (Mr. Nash), speaking in the Hamilton by-election campaign last night. With the increase in money available for spending in New Zealand because of factors associated with war finance, the need for exchange control was doubly clear. Exchange control meant import control. For that reason the Government did not intend to abandon its policy of import selection. This policy, said Mr. Nash, was introduced to ensure .that the sterling money necessary to meet our commitments overseas was available on the date. The abandonment of import control would jeopardise any assurance that our debts could, be met when they became due. In the administration of import control a selective basis was the most advantageous to New Zealand's economy. Obviously, if we had to restrict our purchases from overseas it was common sense to do so on goods .which we could make ourselves and to leave available funds for tlie purchase of goods, which we must necessarily obtain from overseas. Apparently the National Party proposed to abolish import control, continued Mr. Nash, who quoted from statements by Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Algie. In a statement published this week, -the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Holland) had violently attacked the policy of import control, using the words "lock-out" and "monopoly," and said it would be tragic if the present lock-out policy was persevered with. GOODS FROM BRITAIN. Since the inception of import control, said Mr. Nash, the policy had been to extend to the United Kingdom the maximufn preference in the matter of granting import licences. If the goods required could be supplied satisfactorily by the United Kingdom licences were in general confined to imports from that source. It had been found, however, that in respect of certain commodities the United Kingdom had been unable to supply New Zealand needs or had^Jbeen able to supply only a portion thereof and in such cases there had been no alternative but to seek supplies from 6ther sources: The latter course was not taken, however, without its having been established that the United Kingdom could not meet requirements. There had been numerous occasions where orders had been placed through official channels in the United Kingdom, and the United Kingdom through- inability to supply had advised that they be directed. to another source. Where the goods were of a class .subject to allocation through such organisations in London as the Commonwealth Supply Council and the Combined Production and Resources Board which determined the source of supply and quantities of goods available imports, must necessarily be made in conformity with the decisions of those organisations. As an indication of the policy of directing the maximum of trade to the United Kingdom it might be mentioned, said Mr. Nash, that, immediately on introduction of import control, provision was made whereby an importer who held a licence to import goods from a foreign country or from an Empire source other than the United Kingdom was granted permission to import such goods from the United Kingdom, but transfers from the United Kingdom to other countries were not permitted except in particular circumstances which justified that course. That position continued until 1942, when it was found necessary in the light of changing conditions in the supply position overseas to withdraw general authority for transfers from foreign countries or British countries to the United Kingdom, but requests for such transfers were considered individually on their merits. In general the circumstances probably allowed of such transfers being made, but they might not be approved of. For example, the United Kingdom authorities had intimated that they were not disposed to permit exportation of the goods. In respect-of certain goods where the basic allocation for licences provided for imports from the United Kingdom only,- for example, cotton and art silk textiles, the allocation was related to imports in the basic period from all sources. Thus, an importer of rayons from Japan in 1938 could obtain a licence for the importation of similar goods in 1945 from the United Kingdom based on such imports. SHIPPING SPACE A FACTOR. It had been necessary not only for the purpose of conserving overseas funds but also for the purpose of relieving the demand under existing conditions on shipping space to limit the importation of goods, and where importation was considered unnecessary either on the grounds of the goods being non-essential or of New Zealand being in a position to supply its own requirements, imports had been limited or excluded. In certain cases New Zealand had been forced to rely on her own productive capacity because the goods were not procurable overseas, and it had been indeed fortunate that we had had the capacity to undertake such production. It might briefly be said, therefore, firstly that the import control policy was being employed to safeguard the Dominion's economic stability by protecting the position of our overseas funds; secondly, that to the-extent that oversea^ funds were available for imports (and it was necessary to import goods to meet requirements) they would be employed for that purpose; and, thirdly, that imports within such limitation of funds would be ' made from the United Kingdom to the maximum extent to which she could satisfactorily meet New Zealand needs of the goods required. NEW INDUSTRIES. Where the question of establishing new industries was involved (and it seemed to be generally accepted in England as well as in New Zealand that there were sound reasons, including the necessity to provide full employment, for developing suitable secondary industries within the Dominion) the policy was followed of giving every consideration and preference to the claims for participation in such industries of manufacturers in the United Kingdom who had been important suppliers of- the goods concerned to this market. The objective, in that case, would be not to create monopolies but to provide opportunity for reasonable competition while at the same time assisting the industry to become satisfactorily established and avoiding uneconomic competition.