THE TARIFF TRUCE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 30 November 1933, Page 9

THE TARIFF TRUCE

A DENOUNCEMENT The denouncement of the tariff truce and effective measures for dealing with discrimination against British trade were urged in a memorandum sent to the British Government by the Grand Council of the Federation of British Industries. is essential,” says the memorandum, "that immediate notice should he given to denounce the tariff truce in order to free the hands of the Government for negotiations with foroigja countries designed to benefit British trade.” The proper structure of the British tariff, with special reference to foreign treaty negotiations, should, it is suggested, be a three-column tariff—an Imperial preference tariff to the granted to the Empire, an intermediate tariff to be granted to countries which are prepared to tociprocncc, and : a general tariff, substantially higher than the intermediate tariff, to be applied to countries whose treatment of British goods is unsatisfactory. The memorandum asks that notice should be given to terminate any existing agreements involving tire grant of most-favoured-nation treatment by Britain to those countries which do not do facto grant to Britain full most fav-oured-nation rights, and that, pending the possibility of entering into full negotiations with countries whose products are to a great extent competitive with those of Britain, the Government should be provided with such weapons, either in the form of tariffs or otherwise, as are necessary for dealing effectively and at short notice with such attacks on trade as have become increasingly frequent of late, as evidenced by arbitrary increases of duties and restrictions on the special classes of goods exported by Great Britain, special exchange duties imposed on sterling prices, subsidies and other similar forms of discrimination.