ANGLO-CANADIAN TRADE

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 February 1937, Page 9

ANGLO-CANADIAN TRADE

NEW AGREEMENT. [BY CABLE —PKISS ASSN. —COPYBIGHT.] LONDON, February 25. The Anglo-Canadian trade agreement, which has been renewed for three years, lowers the British preferential duties on 150 items, mainly by 2t to 5 per cent, ad valorem, and on some by 5 to 20 per cent, ad valorem. The reductions, cover a wide range of British goods, including wollen textiles and cottons. The United Kingdom maintains duty free entry of the Canadian goods in the. old agreement, including dairy produce. The British and Canadian Governments will henceforth negotiate their differences as between, governments, instead of Great Britain making representations to the Canadian Tariff Board. Summed up, the agreement accords Great Britain substantial concessions over the old agreement, whereas Canada’s position is virtually unchanged. The agreement will come into force as a whole as soon as the necessary legislation has been passed, and in the meantime each government will give effect to its provisions as far as possible. The new agreement takes the place of the Ottawa agreement, and will remain in force until 1940, after which it will .continue, subject to six months’ notice. The reduction affects about 40 per cent, by value of the total imports of United Kingdom goods into Canada. Free entry for a number of classes of United Kingdom goods, representing about 30 per cent, by value of the total imports, is conventionalised. Only about 15 per cent, cf the imports from the United Kingdom will be. subject to duties not fixed in the agreement. Canada wall apply “most favoured foreign nation” treatment to colonial goods..

BRITAIN AND IRELAND LONDON, February 25. Minor adjustments affecting the trade arrangements with the Irish Free State concluded at the beginning of 1936 were announced by the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs (Mr. Malcolm MacDonald) in answer to a question in the House of Commons. He recalled his recent statement, after the conversations with Mr. de Valera, that the arrangement was to continue for another year. As a result of subsequent discussions, it was agreed to make minor adjustments in the arrangements for the regulation of United Kingdom imports of cattle and bacon from the Irish Free State during 1937. The United Kingdom Government agreed to remove the present special duty of 20 per cent, ad valorem on live horses imported from the Irish Free State and the Irish Free State Government, for its part, agreed to remove the existing emergency duties or sugar and subsidiary products imported from the United Kingdom. The changes will take effect on Monday. U.S.A. RECIPROCITY WASHINGTON, February 25. The Senate, by 58 votes to 24, passed the reciprocal trade resolutions, despite strenuous efforts by opponents to add disabling amendments.