BRITISH PREFERENCE

Taranaki Daily News, 21 August 1930, Page 8

BRITISH PREFERENCE

QUOTA OF MATERIALS.. INCREASE CRITICISED. The support of th© WellingtonjUliamber of Commerce in an endeavour to prevent any increase being made in New Zealand in tho proportions of materials used in goods coming under British preference in the tariff was sought by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce in a letter to the Wellington Chamber at a meeting this week. The Auckland Chamber advised that it had written to th© Minister of Customs stating its attention had been drawn to the fact that representations

had been made to the Prime Minister by certain interests in the dii'ection of raising the New Zealand Customs requirement for British preference from 50 pei’ cent, to 75 per cent. Th© Auckland chamber was unanimously opposed to any alteration in • the present provisions, believing that th© suggested amendment could not be introduced without striking a very severe blow to British industry. British manufacturers, in order to be able to compete in the world’s markets for fully-finished manufactured articles, may import semifinished products from abroad, even to the extent of 25 to 50 per cent, of the value. An increase in the percentage from 50 per cent, to 75 per cent, would probably take numbers of cases out of the preferential class and put them in the general class, and the result would be bad for Imperial trade. The Minister was therefore asked to resist the representations to which reference had been made.

The secretary stated that ho had replied to the letter, stating that following the recent Gazetted request from the Comptroller of Customs for information to assist in the negotiation of trade agreements with Australia and Canada, the Wellington chamber had submitted a suggestion to the comptroller that during his visit to Canada and Great Britain some inquiries and investigations might be made by him into the benefits (if any) that might accrue to British trade if the British labour and (or) material requirement were raised from 50 per cent, to 60 per cent, or 66 2-3 per cent. It seemed a fairly prevalent opinion in Wellington that there were many articles that now scraped through with preferential duties on a. proper-

tion of 51-49 per cent., and many were of opinion that that was veij much the case with “Canadian” products of American origin, and no doubt such a country as free-trade England had similar experiences. The council asked for further information to assist it in reconsidering its suggestion made to tho comptroller.