INTER-EMPIRE FREE TRADE.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 January 1930, Page 10

INTER-EMPIRE FREE TRADE.

However attractive the ideal of . a selfcontained, self-supplying British Empire may be, the first proposals made by the latest- leader of the movement to that end seem open to a good deal of criticism. Lord Beaverbrook suggests that the project commence with . the . colonial empire that is non-self-governing. The Crown colonies. and dependencies, excluding India and Egypt, are to form a “free trade empire” as quickly as possible. Goods from the colonies would have free entry into Great Britain, and British manufactures would, in turn, be free of tariff duties in the colonies, such duties being applied to all goods other than those from the United Kingdom, which apparently would iiielude commodities exported by the self-governing Dominions. The latter are to be asked to join the “free trade empire” either wholly or to an extent which appeals to their own judgment, thus assuring the Dominions an open market- in Great Britain and the Crown colonies, but leaving them power to exclude by tariffs’ any exports from the “free trade empire” which conflict with a. Dominion’s policy of developing its own manufactures. So far as the self-governing Dominions are concerned it seems to leave matters much as they are at present. There arc few, if any, tariffs in operation in any of the Crown colonies that in any way interfere with Dominion exports, so that the abolition of any that exist- is not likely to stimulate Dominion .trade to any great extent. -Similarly the British market is open to the Crown colonies and all other exporting countries. It is true that excise duties are placed upon certain products of the colonies and it might be that through their abolition trade would be increased. It must be remembered, however, that the British excise duties apply to the same commodities whatever their source of origin and-are- purely for revenue purposes. How the revenue would be adjusted has--yet to be shown and further in what Crown colonies tariffs at present- have an ill effect upon British exports. As a gesture Lord Beaverbrook's suggestion may serve some purpose. As a practical- development of Empire free trade it does not go very far.