Trade With Australia

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 174, 26 July 1935, Page 7

Trade With Australia

HOW BRITAIN IS SUFFERING. Owing to New Zealand and Australia both having at present an adverse bank rate of exchange on London of approximately 26 per cent., but being also at par with each other, Australia is reaping a great advantage over Great Britain in trading with. New Zealand. Many commodities formerly supplied by British manufacturers and producers are now being supplied by Australia due to the lower landed cost from Australia as a result of bank ex-

change. This fact was referred to by Air. A. H. Allen (Dunedin), president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce, at last evening’s annual dinner of tho Palmerston North Chamber, at which be was a guest. He pointed out that this state of affairs was unfair to Great Britain and would sooner or later have serious repercussions for Now Zealand.

“Any increase in imports from Australia due to this cause will result in a corresponding decrease in the imports from Great Britain,” he pointed out. “AVe 3d New Zealand have no export trade in manufactured goods and arc therefore wholly dependent upon the successful sale of our surplus primary products mainly in the British market where Australia is also a. keen competitor in the sale of similar products. At Ottawa wo undertook to giant to British manufacturers a moio favourably entry into New Zealand, through our Customs duties where such help is required, to place the British manufacturer on a domestic footing with local manufacturers. AA’e cancelled the primage duty of 3 per cent, on British goods, but imposed an additional handicap of 26 per cent, bank exchange, which applies not only to invoice prices, but on all charges to ship’s slings, New Zealand. Though we have not adhered to the spirit of the Ottawa agreement we have been pressing for an unrestricted entry .into United Kingdom markets for our exports and Great Britain has again met us generously. If we expect a continuance of the favourable freight rates which are now charged by shipping companies for the transport of our exports to the Mother Country, it can only be by providing them with sufficient inward cargo to make each round trip pay. To remedy this unfair handicap to the British manufacturer, I suggest that our Government should take the necessary steps to bring the landed cost of Australian articles, displacing similar British products up to the landed cost of the British article.” .