TRADE POSITION

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19985, 18 December 1934, Page 8

TRADE POSITION

NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA INFORMATION WANTED By Telegraph—Press Association DUNEDIN. December 17. Supporting a proposal made by Mr A. C. Cameron, at the meeting of the Council of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce to-night, that the Government should be asked for a definite statement with respect to the trade position between New Zealand and Australia, Mr A. H. Allen indulged in a candid expression of his views as 10 what the attitude of New Zealand seemed to be. Introducing the subject, Mr Cameron said that members would have noticed from the cable messages published 4 n the newspapers that the mission of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Industries and Commerce on their visit to Australia had proved ineffective. “Everybody seems to be in the dark as to the position immediately prior to the visit,” he said, “and it is desirable that we should know immediately after their return what has been done.” Mr Allen stated that it must be borne in mind that Australia had been steadily robbing Britain of her market in New Zealand for many commodities which she had formerly supplied.

Injuring Britain. “Australia seems to have us in che palm of her hand,” he added. “So long as she chooses to keep the rate of . exchange on London at 25 per cent. New Zealand is bound to adhere to that exchange. If we dropped the rate to 15 per cent, that would give Australia an additional advantage of 10 per cent, in selling goods to the Dominion. We all know that the prosperity of this Dominion depends very largely upon the Mother Country buying more of our commodities and paying higher prices for them. So long as we continue to buy from Australia and to rob the Old Country of her market for goods which she previously supplied how can we expect her to buy more from us? The position is serious and we should back up the Government as far as we can in resisting the encroachment that the Australian producer is making on these markets. # We should let the Government know that it should not yield to Australia until that country does something for us. ‘Whereas Australia is able to buy potatoes from us at from £2/10/- to £4 a ton, people in the Commonwealth are paying from £lB to £2O a ton. They say our potatoes are diseased. They are not diseased. It is a political move. So long as that continues New Zealand should keep a stiff back and refuse io do business with Australia.”

Surcharge Suggested. Mr Cameron said that if the Chamber had full information on the subject it could discuss the matter reasonably. At present it was in the dark. It was decided to ask the Government through the Associated Chambers for a statement of the position. Mr Allen stated after the meeting that to meet the exchange position to which he had referred it might yet he necessary for the New Zealand Government to surcharge Australian invoices with an amount equal to the difference in the exchange between New Zealand and London, then the amount of the Australian invoice plus that surcharge would become the amount for duty so that the landed cost of Australian goods imported into New Zealand would not be less than the landed cost of similar goods from Great Britain