Imports Restricted To Aid Britain, Minister Says

Northern Advocate, 12 March 1948, Page 2

Imports Restricted To Aid Britain, Minister Says

WELLINGTON, Fri. (Sp.).—“To cry for more is merely to behave like a petulant child whose portion of iced cake is not bigenough to make him sick.” The acting Minister of Customs (Mr Nordmeyer) said, this yesterday. He was reaffirming that the requirement to limit imports to current income meant that £95,000,000 was, on present evidence, the limit to which licences could be issued this year.

At the same time he claimed that the Government got no pleasure from refusing licences for essential goods.

is in tractors, agricultural implements and fertilisers. “Farmers do not live by tractors alone.”

However, this action was unavoidable if New Zealand was to shoulder her responsibilities in the present difficult period through which Britain was passing.

Famine Forecast WELLINGTON, Fri. (P.A.)—“From inquiries made, the majority of importers have had their allocations so drastically cut that with the cessation of special, licences they have very little or no licence value unexpended for the remainder of this year,” says a statement is.fued by the United Kingdom Manufacturers and New Zealand Representatives’ Association. “It would appear from official pronouncements already made that with 1943-49 licences —mostly cut by 50 per cent —being already mortgaged to clear 1947 orders still coming in, importers are unable to place orders for 1948 or even 1949. “Unless some relaxation is made promptly it is anticipated that before six months have passed there will be a famine in many consumer lines.”

The Government, with its full knowledge and appreciation of the situation, was the only body capable of deciding the extent to which licences could be granted.

He recalled the request made to New Zealand by the British Prime Minister (Mr Attlee) in August. Mr Attlee then said that it would help Britain greatly if New Zealand could keep her imports at least within the limits of income for the current year. Tiiis had a very different meaning from the statement by the president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce (Mr Haskell Anderson) that “the United Kingdom has expressed itself as anxious that' we should take payment in goods to the full extent of our current export earnings.” Britain’s request meant that New Zealand was desired to keep her total overseas expenditure within the amount of her total overseas income for the current year.

It was necessary to plan a budget of all estimated overseas income from exports and other sources and to examine how to make the most effective use of this income, continued Mr Nordmeyer.

The biggest single Com. on the expenditure side was licensed imports, which was estimated to account for £95,000,000.

IMPORTS BY GOVERNMENT In addition, provision had to be made for imports by the Government —imports ior its own requirements and imports such as wheat and tea for direct public consumption. Provision also must be made for interest on overseas debt, payments overseas for Government requirements other than imports, and for the whole range of business and private remittances other than payments for licensed imports. It was not correct to assume, as Mr Anderson appeared to suggest, that the provision for licensed Imports had been kept down io £95,000,000 to make room for repayment of a lean of about £24,000,000 Neve Zealand currency, out of our current overseas income. No matter what the decision on the lean might be, £95,000,000 was the limit to which licences could be issued this year.

“As for the statement by Mr R. G. Buckleton, who purported to speak for the action committee of the Federated Farmers, my only comment is that farmers, like other sections of the community, share fully, directly and indirectly, in all imports,” added Mr Nordmeyer.

“It is patently absurd to suggest that the farmers’ only share of imports