THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1930. PROPOSED TARIFF TRUCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20669, 15 September 1930, Page 8

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1930. PROPOSED TARIFF TRUCE.

As the chief enthusiast, for it, Mr. W. Graham, President of the British Hoard of Trade, has been heard again at Geneva urging acceptance of the tariff truce convention signed at a special European conference in March last. lie announced that Britain would ratify it, and he asked that all the signatories should do the same, so that the next move, toward a reduction of duties, might be made. Mr. Graham''said unless sufficient nations ratified the. convention before next April, Britain would hold herself free of its obligations. The implied threat is not a very serious one. A more important point is the implication that, whatever the other signatories may do, the Government will regard Britain as bound by the terms of this agreement until the end of March next. Little has been heard about tho exact character of this undertaking since it was signed in part or in whole by representatives of most of tho European nations last March. At best it cannot mean very much to the others, with whatever importance Mr. Graham invests it, on Britain's behalf. For when the conference ended its chairman described the work done as " a first hesitating step on the road on which the Governments concerned desired them to start." That road, of course, was to lead to a general lowering of tariff barriers throughout Europe. If a first hesitating step in that direction was taken in March, Britain, the one nation without any tariffs to lower, the nation with most to gain if any might bo lowered, bore away no great triumph or victory from Geneva. Now it seems still doubtful whether that first hesitant step will be approved by any Government except the British.

When Mr. Graham first faced the House of Commons after tho conference lie was asked bluntly whether the Agreement tentatively made did not mean that Britain had agreed not to impose any tariffs, yet secured no undertaking of concessions from those countries which did have such barriers. He did not answer the question directly, but there was no real doubt that this was the effect of the convention. It amounted to a stabilisation of existing conditions, so far as it bound ihe parties to anything direct; this could only mean an undertaking not to increase tariffs, but did not necessarily impose any obligation to reduce them. Mr. Graham has amply confirmed that interpretation in his latest statement at Geneva. He speaks of another conference to negotiate reduction of duties. A good deal was made, in the speech of the chairman, already quoted, about the implied undertakings of the convention, the understanding that there would'be loyal regard for its principles and its implications. This again could only be interpreted as binding Britain formally, for a season, to keep the open door for the rest, while they, in.their turn, were left free to maintain all the obstacles, already existing, to the entry of British goods. Superficially viewed, this may not appear important, since there is not at the moment any direct official move for a departure from Britain's free trade policy. Yet there is a good deal of significance in the date of Mr. Graham's Geneva speech, and the date up to which he says Britain will be bound by the convention, even assuming no other party ratifies it. Geneva is given this assurance just before an Imperial Conference is duo to meet. Mr. Graham says Britain will hold to the convention untii the end of March. By that time the Imperial Conference will be over.

Some months ago Mr. J. 11. Thomas assured the House of Commons that at the Imperial Conference everything might be discussed : nothing would be barred. Yet the British Government will discuss the question of Empire relations hound by an undertaking to Europe, which in the spirit, if not the letter, requires that no engagement shall be made, even with the Empire, that will affect the flow of European commerce toward Britain. There is an undertaking to observe a spirit (if " loyal co-operation " with the other signatories, and there is no saving clause about Empire bonds. There may be freedom to discuss anything and everything at the Imperial Conference, hut the British Government will have no freedom of action so long as the terms of this convent ion are observed. Mr. Graham has claimed freedom after March 31 if this convent ion dias not been generally ratified by that time. He thereby renounces freedom before that date, and thus binds Britain to regard Europe rather than the Empire while Ihe Imperial Conference is silting. It might be that the British members nt. Ihe conference would not have accepted anything that did not accord with the terms of this convention even if I hey had not been parties to it ; but to be lied by it in advance dors not promise well in the eyes of those who hoped that something positive in the direction of an Empire economic agreement might be developed at the conference. This clinging to Europe does not harmonise with views expressed outside official circles. The Trades Union Congress, in its famous manifesto, said that European industries, on the whole, were too definitely in competition with those of Britain for the Continent to offer prospects of useful co-operation. The committee of bankers which urged the development of Empire trade, by tariffs if necessary, declared there were no signs of the European barriers to British trade being lowered. These views are disregarded, and, though an Imperial Conference is about to sit, the British Government turns definitely to Europe as tho scene of future efforts for commercial development.