CHEAP GERMAN GOODS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27385, 10 May 1950, Page 7

CHEAP GERMAN GOODS

British Manufacturers Worried PRICE UNDERCUTTING NZPA Special Correspondent Rec. 8 p.m. LONDON, /May 9. The cheapness of German goods is again worrying British manufacturers, says the financial correspondent of the Manchester Guardian. Some German prices are so low that they do not even cover the bare cost of making the same goods in Britain. The Germans’ ability to undercut British competitors is due partly to lower taxation, partly to lower wages, and, to a lesser extent, to a slightly longer working week. German workers at present are receiving about 25 per cent, less than the British, and though the output of many of them is low it is steadily improving. On the taxation side, the Allied occupation of Germany is costing the German taxpayer only half of what the British taxpayer pays for the upkeep of his army, navy and air force. Last year direct and indirect taxation together took only 17 per cent, of Western Germany’s income, whereas 33 per cent, of Britain’s revenue is being taken by the Government. British owners of ships operating in the Scandinavian timber trade are complaining that they are being undercut by German and other firms and being compelled to lay up their vessels. Many of these ships were built specially for timber carrying during the war. One of the chief handicaps of British owners is the high cost of repairs and maintenance, and in both cases the charges paid by German owners are much less.

The chief charterer of ships for the timber trade is British Timber Control, an offshoot of the Board of Trade. It insists that it must seek the cheapest transport, irrespective of nationality.