TRADE RECOVERY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19023, 25 May 1936, Page 6

TRADE RECOVERY

LANCASHIRE GRATIFIED EXTRA £1,000,000 LIKELY NEW AUSTRALIAN SYSTEM REVISED COTTON DUTIES (British Official Wireless.) Heed. 1.20 p.m. RUGBY, May 23. Great satisfaction was expressed in Lancashire with the Australian Government's announcement made by Australia House representatives yesterday of the introduction of the new duties ami the import licensing system, framed to divert a large portion of Australian buying from countries which at present draw little from Australia lo those which buy a great deal, and especially the United Kingdom, which is her best, customer. The revision of cotton duties is expected lo increase the imports from Lancashire of textiles now bought from Japan by something like £1,000,000 or more annually. The president of the .Manchester Chamber of Commerce says the changes represent a real effort by the Australian Government to secure a distinction for the textile trade-as between Britain and Japan. In (he. period 197k 7 ) to 1936 the British cotton exports to Australia fell from 137.C00.C00 to IC4.OCO.UCO yards, while Japanese exports lose from 23.C00.0C0 to 50,000,00'J yards. British exports of rayon goods to Australia, remained steady at abonl 10.000.000 yards, while, the Japanese exports increased from 13.000.000 to 60,000.OCO yards.

For some time past increasing balance in .Australian trade with the United States has been causing great anxiety in the Commonwealth on account of the resulting embarrassment in the balancing of payments, efforts having been made to secure the co-operation of the Washington Government, which has been urged to relieve the position by buying more from Australia, or by formulating some tri angular arrangement making it easier for Australia, to pay for the huge quantities of goods she has been accustomed 1 to buy from the United States- The failure of these efforts has caused the Commonwealth Government, to take steps to reduce the volume of American imports. Even under the new system, there will remain a heavy unfavourable balance.