CUSTOMS ANOMALIES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20736, 2 December 1930, Page 13

CUSTOMS ANOMALIES.

DUTY ON RAW MATERIALS.

MANUFACTURERS' COMPLAINT.

UNFAIR COMPETITION ALLEGED. The position of local manufacturers who imported their raw materials under a heavy tariff and whose finished product was sold in competition with that of British makers whose materials were imported into the United Kingdom free of tax, and whose product came into New Zealand at .a low preferential rate, was discussed at a meeting of the council of the Auckland Manufacturers' Association yesterday. The question was raised by a letter from a hat-making firm in Auckland, which forwarded correspondence which had been sent to the Hon. J. G. Cobbe on November 27.

" We regret that we have to inform you that we are closing down our factory on November 28," stated the letter to the Minister. "We are reluctantly compelled to take this course, on account of the anomalies which exist as regards the customs duties we have to pay on our importations and the unfair competition from England and the Continent. These matters have been pointed out to you on many occasions and have been just ignored, ,so that we have now reached a climax."

After referring to a previous communication, sent on September 14, 1928, the letter states: "The people's and the country's welfare seems to be no one's business. < We make a definite statement that the customs point a revolver at the worker's head and say to him that ' You shall not have a job until your employer pays 52£ per cent, duty on his raw material.' This very raw material goes into England duty free and comes here made into hats, on which there is only 27 per cent. duty. "On top of this, all hats made'in England are made of foreign - raw. material and come out Jiere as British manufactures under a preferential duty. In many cases these hats oost 60s a dozen to produce and are invoiced at 12s a dozen. New Zealand is the dumping ground of the universe. Italy is paying a bounty of 15 per cent, on all hats exported." "There is a lot, of truth in what tho firm has written," remarked Mr. J. A. C. Allum. " There are certain anomalies in the tariff," said Mr. C. B. Plummer. " There is . one class of raw material on which the duty is 52£ per cent., but I think that that duty was designed to apply to foreign goods. Taking 25 per cent, as a basis, the English manufacturer gets his raw materials in free and-sends them out here undes a 25 per cent. duty. Dumping copies into the question also. At the end of the winter or summer season at Home a quantity of goods is sent here, and that does not help our manufacturers. The position is really rather serious."

" The question of the British preferential tariff and the tiuty on raw materials is a very.serious one," remarked Mr. W. Parkinson. "I have no doubt that this has been affecting all our industries." The president, Mr. George Finn, suggested that the matter of tariffs should be referred to the executive with a view to approaching the Government, and this was agreed to.