IMPORTS

Hokitika Guardian, 20 March 1940, Page 6

IMPORTS

APPEAL TO MINISTER,

AUCKLAND, March 19. On the grounds that New Zealand’s overseas funds jhave inareaped from £6,809,000 to £20,000,000, and that England has repeatedly appealed lor export business to assist Her in her war effort, members of the Bureau of , Importers instructed their executive at , the. annual meeting to-day to call a conference to formulate and submit a scheme to the Government. The con- j ferqnce, it is suggested, should be held j in. Wellington on April 23- The executive is to seek the support of chambers of commerce, the British and : United Kingdom, Manufacturers’ Association, the. Wholesale M er bh a b^ s Federation, the. Farmers’ Union, the Shipowners’ Federation, and retail associations throughout the Dominion. The. object of the conference will he the formulation and, submission of a scheme which will, if adopted, assist Great Britain in her war. effort, supply New Zealanders, with many of fie goods now denied them under the regulations introduced nine months before the outbreak of the war, and en- , able [merchants, importers, retailers, and distributors.to parry on their businesses, keep their employees in work, and contribute their share towards the Dominion’s war effort. A second resolution carried by the meeting was that a telegram should he sent to the .Minister for Customs, (the Hoii. W. Nash), stating that in view of the present position of New Zealand’s overseas funds, and the fact that- last year’s Dominion’s exports to the United Kingdom exceeded visible imports by nearly £24,000,000 (New Zealand currency), members requested the earliest modification of the import restriction. The object iof ‘this jwould be to enable increased imports of British manufactured goods, and the Dominion’s maximum contribution to the war effort.... . • •