Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24, 1932. PLANS FOR OTTAWA.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 72, 24 February 1932, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24, 1932. PLANS FOR OTTAWA.

Eveey subject who appreciates tbe splendid move made by the Mother Country in aiding an extensive list of Empire products to gain a wider market within her shores by the imposition of a tariff of ten per cent, on foreign goods and products will realise the necessity for this Dominion, along with other members of the Imperial family, giving, close attention to tangible reciprocation so that when the Ottawa Conference arrives in June we shall be in a position to make some wellarranged offer which will make the tariff protection lasting, if not permanent, at least as far as this country is concerned. .The Imperial Government has intimated that the new scale of duties shall, have efEect from March 1 until the Ottawa, gathering, and on the transactions at this meeting of Empire delegates will depend whether or not the policy shall be .continued. New Zealand is expected to benefit materially from the new duties chiefly in the markets for butter and cheese —wool and meat are not included in .the duty list, similar exemption being given to raw cotton and certain other items. At present our main competitor, in the butter market, Denmark, is enjoying an advanced premium in price over our product, but the higher that becomes the greater will be the incidence of the tarifE, and it is unquestioned that nothing but benefit can accrue to the New Zealand dairymen, even if it does not become apparent immediately the tariff comes into operation.

In considering the attitude to be taken up by New Zealand’s representatives, whoever they may be, it is interesting to note that while New Zealand has feigned to bestow real preference on British goods from time to time, this has not been, so effective in its actual incidence as would appear to be the case on the surface; and the trade position between ourselves and the Mother Country has never been free from the restrictions of protective duties designed to foster internal industries. These duties, though Britain may appear to enjoy on paper preference as compared with foreign nations, have the effect of shutting out British goods in order to bolster some industries which have failed to justify any protection it may have been advisable to give them in their earliest stages of development. The first .real step toward imposing protective duties in New Zealand was taken in 1895, when the tariff. took its modern form, and since then numerous alterations have taken place; the principal , revision being made in 1921, when the Government framed a new tariff following the report of a Tariff Revision Committee which was set up to specifically deal with the subject. Briefly the main objects of the revision were to secure a larger revenue to the Dominion and to give a measure of protection to local industries.

There was arranged what was known as the intermediate tariff. Under the old conditions. there were- two scales—the general tariff on all dutiable goods and the additional preferential duties which were usually added to importations from foreign countries. The revision of 1921 provided for three scales —general, intermediate and British preferential tariffs. One would expect that the last-named would become a distinct concession, but this is what happened: the general tariff, which applies to foreign foods,’ is in effect the general utv plus the preferential duty under the repealed legislation, while the British “preferential” tariff of 1921 corresponds to the general duty under the old rates. That is to. say, while it was made more difficult for foreign goods to enter the Dominion, certain articles of British manufacture received no concession whatever because they still had'to face a ®duty which disabled them in competition with home-made and specially sheltered goods; this notwithstanding that freight charges and other incidentals covering transport over a sea voyage of 13,000 miles had to be met. There is no gainsaying that it is Our duty to create secondary industries within thi3 Dominion so far as general conditions will permit, and even to afford the protection of tariffs while these industries are in their “swaddling clothes,” but the rub is that numerous industries so protected have failed to justify such protection—some of them have been operating since the protective tariff was first framed and cannot hold their way, they claim, without the protection —while consumers of their products who have to depend solely on what their own goods will bring on a free market overseas have to pay a premium which is unwarranted for the home-made article or the British if they prefer it. 'What has been happening is that we have endeavoured too much to live within ourselves in some lines, at the same time failing to realise that upon the purchasing power of the British artisan depends the stability of our primary produce markets in Britain.

It is fortunate for us that the tariff policy now decided upon by the Imperial Government has Empire scope. It is not difficult to comprehend what would have been the result had they decided, for example, to concentrate on United Kingdom industries alone for the present and imposed a levy on New Zealand’s and other countries’ wool, meat, butter, cheese, hides, honey and so on in order to aid the British farmer, who, it has been shown from time to time, is badly in need of help/ Our duty to the New Zealand secondary industries need not be overlooked in any attempt we may make to give the Mother Country a real and substantial measure of reciprocal preference in return for the concession recently announced. It is hoped that, though the present session of Parliament is likely to be a very busy one, an opportunity will be afforded the House of debating the measures to be taken by the New Zealand delegation to. Ottawa. Hitherto the tariff has been tinkered with periodically under the . wide powers enjoyed by the Minister of Customs of the day to amend the schedule, and it would be to the best interests of all concerned were the Government to take before Parliament their plans for Ottawa and give members an opportunity. of dealing comprehensively with the country’s tariff policy generally, especially with an eye to making available .to British manufacturers an improved- market in return for the patronage their operatives give to New Zealand’s. exports. Mr J. H. Thomas puts the position very aptly when he says : “It is no good talking about preference when the duties are so high that nobody can climb over them.”-