TRADE WITH CANADA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21167, 27 April 1932, Page 12

TRADE WITH CANADA.

THE TREATY SIGNED. BEFORE HOUSE TO-DAY. BUTTER 5 CENTS A POUND. REVIEW BY CONFERENCE. [by TELEGnArir. —special nEronTETi. ] WELLINGTON, Tuesday. Confirmation of the cabled news from Ottawa that the -trade agreement between Canada and New Zealand had been signed was given to-day by tho Prime Minister, the Tit. lion. G. W. Forbes. He added that the agreement was subject to review at the Imperial Economic Conferonce, which will open at Ottawa on July 21. It is revealed that the agreement was actually signed on Saturday by Mr. Forbes and the Hon. W. Downie Stewart, Minister of Customs. At the same hour in Ottawa the Canadian Prime Minister, the Hon. R. B. Bennett, and tho Minister of Industries and Commerce, Mr. H. H. Stevens, were appending their signatures to an identical document, binding Canada to the terms of the agreement. Resolutions and Customs Bill. Resolutions ratifying tho agreement trill be submitted to tho House of Representatives to-morrow afternoon and a Customs Bill, • confirming the resolutions, will also be introduced. A similar procedure will be followed in the Canadian House of Commons. In the case of Canada, however, owing to tho difference in time, the plan was to submit the agreement to Parliament this evening.

Negotiations for the treaty were conducted at Honolulu during the latter part of December and the early days of January. Mr. Stewart represented New Zealand and Mr. Stevens was the Canadian representative. It had been anticipated that tho agreement would bo submitted for ratification shortly after the emergency session began late in February, but in terms of a subsequent announcement "a hitch occurred at the Canadian end." Parity with Australian Butter. Numerous cablegrams have passed between the two Governments since then and the expectation grew that no finality would be reached until the Ottawa Conference took place. However, an agreement on the points in dispute—temporarily at any rate —has at last been reached. Although the full text of the Agreement will not be revealed until a statement is made to the House to-mor-row afternoon, Mr. Forbes intimated this evening that New Zealand butter would he allowed to enter Canada on paying n duty of 5 cents a pound, instead of 8 cents, which has obtained almost since tho expiry of the previous agreement between Australia and Canada, to which New Zealand was admitted as a party. Canada will Gain More.

The impression was given by the Prime Minister that he did not expect New Zealand to gain very materially from the new agreement. "The Canadians wiil gain much more than we will," he said. "The main thing in the agreement affecting us relates to butter, and on the present price of- the Canadian product it does not appear likely that very much New Zealand butter will find a market there."

Mr. Forbes said that Canadian manufactured goods would be allowed to enter New Zealand under more favourable terms than previously and items affected by retaliatory measures taken since tho expiry of the previous agreement would be restored to the British preferential tariff schedule. Under that arrangement motor-cars would be permitted to enter New Zealand as previously, subject to slight modifications governing the proportion of Canadian workmanship. Good Augury for Ottawa.

Pleasure was expressed l>v Mr. Forbes at the fact that the long negotiations had ended and that friendly trade relations had been renewed between the two Dominions. It was a good augury for the coming Ottawa Conference, he remarked. Among those to whom the ratification of the agreement will bring most satisfaction will be New Zealand representatives of Canadian interests trading extensively with this Dominion. It is understood that a considerable quantity of Canadian imports has been held in bond during the period of uncertainty, and strong representations have been made to the Government, in recent weeks with a yiew to hastening the negotiations.

PROSPECTS OF BUSINESS. PRICE OF CANADIAN BUTTER. UNSATISFACTORY POSITION. While expressing satisfaction that the deadlock with Canada over the matter of high tariffs has been satisfactorily ended, Auckland exporters are dubious concerning the immediate prospects of reviving New Zealand's former export trade in butter with that Dominion. Since the Canadian tariff on butter was increased to 8 cents a pound, many factors have interposed to render the Canadian butter market to a large extent independent of outside supplies, and it is significant that since Australian butter was placed on the Canadian preferential tariff list, with a reduced duty of 5 cents, scarcely a shipment of butter has left Australia for Canada. " There is no prospect just now of doing business in butter with Canada," said a leading dairy produce exporter yesterday. " Owing to the severe slump in the market for wheat, a large proportion of the wheat farmers of Canada have turned to milking cows, with the result that more Canadian butter is being .marketed than ever before. In fact, Canadian butter producers are now much better able to supply their own market. The increase in the duty on United States butter some years ago has also been of material help to the Canadian producers. " New Zealand's only hope of obtaining a iiold on the Canadian market lies in an improvement in the price of wheat, for only then will the Canadian farmer abandon dairying and give us a chance to do business. At present we have only tlie satisfaction of knowing that when Canada wants our butter we can do business with a duty of five cents, pwhereas with a duty of eight cents it .would be out of the question." The Canadian manufactured articles which were transfeired from tlie British preferential to the general tariff last year, as a retaliatory measure against the increase in the Canadian duty on butter, are as follows, the British preferential rates, to which a return is now made, being quoted first, with the abandoned general rate in parentheses Canned salmon, ljjd per lb. (3d); hosiery, per cent. .(50 per cent.); rubber shoes, 25 per cent. (50 per cent.); electric batter es and cells, free (25 per cent.); electric ranges, 20 per cent. (45 per cent.); hardware, 20 per cent. (45 per cent.); ordinary wrapping paper, 6s 6d per cwt. or 20 per cent., whichever was the higher (10s 6d per cwt. or r 0 per cent.). Canadian rubber tyres, motor vehicles and engines have been subject to a general tariff of 38.5 per cent, since 'August, 1930, and no further increase was imposed. unctar the retaliatory measures pi last year