AUSTRALIA LOSES TRADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18025, 25 February 1922, Page 9

AUSTRALIA LOSES TRADE.

EFFECT OF NEW TAMFF.

BRITAIN'S OPPORTUNITY.

REGAINING OLD POSITION. Inquiry among importing houses yesterday brought forth the information that since the imposition of the new tariff which placed. Australia on tho general or foreign schedule, pending a reciprocal agreement, Australian trade with New Zealand has fallen off very considerably. Official statistics aro' not available, but the general impression of whipping men is that so far the amount of goods imported from tho Commonwealth has not shown any great decline. This is not a contradiction, however, seeing that much of freight carried since the beginning of December probably was on order bofore the new rates applied. Not all standing orders in tho Common, wealth will be filled, however. In boots and shoes, for instance, a considerable number has been cancelled, probably at some cost to this end. In respect to shipments of Australian manufactures that have arrived, there has been a marked tendency on tho part of Uio consignees to place then in bond—a practise rarely known previously in the Australian trade—evidently in the hope tba'; befoio long the Commonwealth will sco the importance of coming to terms with New Zealand.

"The right thing has been done;" "It is having the desired effect;" are typical of th? comments made by merchants on tho exclusion of Australia from the preference list under tho aew tariff. "Thero is not a doubt that Australia will be anxious to make concessions." said one man. "The new tariff has :,een a staggering blow to her trade here. There is no question that the Commonwealth has made New Zealand a dumping ground for her surplus stocks for years. The war shortages gave her a tremendous advantage. Because the markets of Europe were closed, and later because the American exchange was so seriously against us, Australian manufactories boomed. The prosperity even led some of the proprietors to beast that before Ion" they would be "hipping their wares to Britain. In this state of mind it was not surprising that they lisd no desire for reciprocity. with the Dominion.

Complete Recovery Impossible. "A change lias come over the scene, but even the granting of reciprocity will not restore the Now Zealand market in a number of lines, for in the meantime British trade has recovered. The British manufacturer is pretty well b*ack in his place, and ig competing on a_ world's market. In my opinion Australia has no hope of meeting this competition from Great Britain even on equal terms. You can take it as fairly certain that Australia will never recover much of the trade she'has lost during the last few months. ' , "With the recovery of British trade and the improvement in the American rate of exchange, Australia could hardly hope to continue her trade of recent years with New Zealand. During the war and subsequently New Zealand had to buy whero sho could. She was compelled to spend heavily in Australia to meet her needs, evon though she -was being treated very shabbily by the Australian customs tariff. Now she can get cheaper a.ud better goods elsewhere." Last year boots and shoes to.the value of nearly £1,000,000 were imported into New Zealand from Australia.-; Now, _ according to men in tha trade, importations are almost negligible Asked how the demand for footwear was being met, one warehouse manager said that with the heavy stocks held at the time the new tariff was imposed and the output of local factories, the market was very well supplied. By the time the stocks of Australian boot* and shoes were disposed English bootsi already beginning to arrive, would.be available in.'quantity at prices against which Australia would have difficulty in competing on equal terms.

' ,£oft Goods Entirely Stopped. "What of ready-made clothing and soft) goods?" he TO asked. "Sneaking generally," he replied, "ther* is 'noting doing.' At this time last year we had obtained £28,000 worth o{'-soft goods from the Commonwealth. This year'we, have not sptM 28 pence on this class of goods in Australia." "Australia is losing thousands of pounds worth of trade-in New Zealand jvery week," said a prominent merchant, " and because of that, the manufacturers here aro very keen to make some, arrangenent with ns in Tespret to customs.duties. Che effect of the n<w tariff has been to hive trade to England, which is ready or our tirade and to America, where ixchanjje rates are daily improving. The ,rade we have done with Australia during ■ecent years was a passing phase. It> ffled a temporary:want. Their nigh costs, xmibined with' their being treated by the. sustains as a foreign country, have put ■crews into the ooffin of their New Zetland market; I speak generally of foodstuffs." Decline In Hardware Imports. "Importers of hardware had the. earn* tale to tell. Until now. Australia has been enjoying a very' heavy trade in steel and iron, which formerly were on the free list. Now these commodities have to pay a duty of 20 per cent., and this impost makes it impossible for Australia to compete with England. " The prices- <rf Australian steel and iron simply caanotcompare with English prices," he said, and England is getting the orders.' : Many other hardware lines are similarly affected. For instance, plain asbestos roofing, formerly free, now pays 20 percent., general hardware, formerly 20 per cent., now pays 55 per cent cast iron pipes, some classes of which were tree end others 20 per cent., now pay 20 per cent, and 35 per cent. flooring tiles 'nave been increased from 20 per cent, to 35 per cent., and wire nails from 02 to £4 a ton. Among the few terns must be obtained from Austria is arriage hard woods, but in respect to nost hardware lines merchants are rnarkng time. They are not. committing themtefves to ordering supp.es, some o which re badly enough wanted, until they see 4at ff Commonwealth Governmrnt proS in the way of'granting long-overdue ustice to New Zealand.