BUTTER FOR UNITED STATES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21111, 19 February 1932, Page 12

BUTTER FOR UNITED STATES.

Sir, —In the Herald of February 13 we read: —"Higher butter prices, further increase expected. shortage in United States." This is very encouraging news, but we must not expect to sit back and take" the good things as Heaven-sent. Intelligent and combined effort is necessary more than ever to develop what promises to be New Zealand's most prosperous era. The latter sentence in the above headings is really most interesting—"Shortage of butter in United States." Here is a wonderful market to exploit, and why not ? We know that the States lias raised ft tariff of approximate]}' 16 cr-ts per .pound against, foreign butters, but this handicap, as far as we are concerned, would be largely offset by the present exr change rates of the two countries. We also know, and the Americans are well aware of the fact, that American exports, particularly of cars and marine engines, lias fallen away to zero, and consequently they are anxious to recover the lost markets. The writer, for the past two years, has been constantly 'in communication with two presidents of large motor corporations, <\nd the subject under discussion has been mainly the probability of a trade agreement between New Zealand and United States of America. It would appear that when the States farmer was given a protection of 16 cents for his butter, it was mainly an electioneering sop. The commercial and industrial interests were doing so well at. the time, selling and exporting their products freely, that they did not foresee a time when retaliatory tariffs would be raised by other countries against American products. So successfully has America, by her tariff, system, antagonised her best customers, that she must, in her own interests, immediately review her tariffs. The American is always a business man; anyone having dealt with him well knows this to be so, and this fact, combined with present conditions there and here, would appear to mako the present -a most opportune time in which to open up trade arrangements with the United States of America. The best method of doing so would be to send a deputation over there composed of political and business men to do what might be termed the "spade work" and then leave the actual trade agreement to our Minister of Finance. First, let lis rid ourselves of any ill-feeling against tho American, which some of us-seem imbued with. The American was hardly to blame for our having purchased almost exclusively iiis cars for the post s 3O years, neither, in fact, should we quarrel \vith him for accumulating so much gold. This was mainly brought about by his producing at a keen price something the world wanted. If now we can sell him a line of our butter, we will at least set somo of our own back. Their primary productive season is ended; they are short of butter, plenty of Americans prefer our butter to their own (as do the Canadians), hundreds of thousands are wealthy and able and willing,to pay (so my American friends tell me) as high as 72 cents for our butter at this time of tho year, so why not look them up ? M AORILANDES-