TARIFF DUTIES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22974, 28 February 1938, Page 14

TARIFF DUTIES

PENDING INCREASES FARMERS' COMPLAINT REPLY BY MANUFACTURERS In reply to a protest by the Dominion executive of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, against the impending increase in tajriff on classes of Australian goods, the New Zealand Manufacturers' Federation states that the attitude of the executive shows the lengths the farming community will go in looking at its own interests alone without the slightest heed for the general interests of the Dominion. The public probably did not realise, the federation states, that there was a tariff on butter and cheese of -0 per cent British and 45 per cent foreign. This added to the absolute and unconditional gift to the Now Zealand farmer of the whole of the Dominion market for wheat and flour showed how unreasonable it was for the farmer to demand tariff protection for himself, and then to complain when it was proposed to grant a reasonable amount of assistance to manufacturing industries and the thousands of workers who were doing their part in the logical development of the country. Assistance to Farmers "The farmers state that the tariff adjustments against Australia will 'very seriously affect the farmer as it will increase farming costs in respect to such articles as wire netting and galvanised iron,' " the statement continues. "Nothiug could be further from the truth. Imports of these commodities from British countries are at the present time duty free, and there has never been the slightest suggestion at any time that they should be subject to a duty. The objective of the recent trade negotiations with Australia ivas the protection of the many sound economic industries in New Zealand whose production supported the country during the recent slump when primary produce could hardly be given away. "Hardly a day passes without some evidence of Governmental assistance to the farmer. The farmer insists upon the extension of costly railways to every small country town. One day a fruit export guarantee is announced; another day a grant for noxious weed eradication of over £20.000 is niade. Subsidies are given on the carriage of fertiliser and lime in the region of a quarter of a million pounds. That short list can be continued indefinitely. Against that I there are only isolated instances of the granting of help to the manufacturing industries and the thousands of men and women employed therein." Example of Australia Discussing the effect of the 1933 Tariff Commission which was set up to see how far tariffs could be reduced in order to carry out the Ottawa agreement, the statement expresses , the view that it was then found that duties as a whole were so low as to leave practically no room for reduction except in a few isolated instances. The Australian tariff against England at that time was on the. average nearly four times as much as the tariff ruling in New Zealand against the Mother Country. Tq» years ago, the statement adds, Australia decided upon a straight-out policy of tariff protection. To-day the Australian nation had attained to manhood by means of its protective policy, and was pouring goods into the Dominion, while the total of New Zealand factory workers dismissed through lack of orders mounted rapidly.