CARS AND TRACTORS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27059, 19 April 1949, Page 4

CARS AND TRACTORS

ITALY SEEKS DOMINION MARKET IMPORT LICENSING DIFFICULTY Special Correspondent WELLINGTON, Apl. 18. To persuade New Zealand to buy Italian crawler tractors, Signor Corrado Sisto, factor}* representative of the Fiat Motor Company, Italy, has been visiting the Dominion. He hopes to have samples here soon and will try to arrange for import licences. Italy had to get on her feet, said Signor Sisto While Marshall aid was tiding her over ncr financial difficulties in the meantime, she was trying to prepare herself tor the time when this assistance would end. As the result cf a study af trade balances, the Italian Ministry of Commerce had discovered that Italy was importing 1,700,000.000 lire tabout £739,130) worth of goods from Australia and New Zealand while selling them 160,000.000 lire (about £69,565) worth. Towards helping to make the balance more even, Signor Sisto has been renewing pre-war trade contacts in Australia and New Zealand in the hope of selling tractors and cars in the two countries.

Australia had granted licences for the importation of 1800 crawler tractors and the cars were proving popular in Sydney and Melbourne because their size made them easy to handle in those two traffic-congested cities, he said. There was extreme difficulty in obtaining import licences in New Zealand, however, because the policy of the Government was to favour Britain first and the dominions next. Other nations were called on only when their goods could not be supplied from Britain. It was hoped that Italy might be able to enter the most favoured nation group after the international trade conferences.

Signor Sisto said the tractors offerea by his firm had been found interesting here and that he was hopeful that a good trade would be established, especially after sample tractors had been demonstrated. He had had discussions about iractors with the Department of Agriculture, with officials of the State Forest Service, with the Controller of Customs, the secretary of the Department of Industries and Commerce and with the Minister of Customs, Mr Nash. Mr Nash had promised to consider the matter when the full facts were put before him.