IMPORT DUTIES

Southland Times, Issue 21581, 19 December 1931, Page 5

IMPORT DUTIES

THIRD BRITISH LIST NUMEROUS COMMODITIES INCLUDED 50 PER CENT AD VALOREM (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. 5.5 p.m.) Rugby, December 17. The third list of new duties under the Abnormal Importations Act, issued to-night by a Board of Trade order, imposes a 50 per cent, duty ad valsjgm as from Saturday next upon sixteen classes of articles, including the following:—llluminating glassware used for artificial light, cameras, photographic plates, films other than cinematograph films, wireless valves and parts thereof, electric filament lamps and fittings, grass mowers, manufactures wholly or partly of cotton of the following descriptions:—Tissues in piece, flags, handkerchiefs, shawls, household cotton goods (including table and bed linen and towels), cordage, ropes, twine under a quarter of an inch in diameter (except such as is used in packing other goods), complete or incomplete garments other than underwear, but including stockings and hose for men, women, and children and shaped material for making into such garments or hosiery, citric acid, tartaric acid, and cream of tartar, aluminium, sulphate of ammonia, alum soda and potash alum, ammonium chloride, and loaded and empty cartridge cases for sporting firearms. The largest category of imports affected is that relating to complete and incomplete garments. The average value of the items included therein, imported monthly last year, was £815,000. During the last two months this figure increased to £924,000 in October and £1,023,000 in November. Almost as large is the cotton manufacture category, goods in which were last year imported to a monthly value of £684,000. In both October and November last the figure increased to £912,000.

Other categories included in the order are photographic films (.ESS.OOOI, electric lamps (£97,000), electric light fittings (£95,000), cordage, etc. (£61,000), and citric acid (£65,000). The National Liberal Federation yesterday expressed regret that at a time when the policy of restricting imports advocated and practised by most of the Governments in Europe and America was threatening to bring international commerce to a standstill, the British Government should have felt itself obliged to adopt a similar policy, and urged the Government not to continue the Abnormal Imports Act beyond the six months for which it was designed. It urged the Liberal members of Parliament to offer overt resistance to a policy of full protection, which was being pressed on the Government by the Conservative members.