Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WED. AUGUST 20, 1947 THE FAVOURED CUSTOMER

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 69, 20 August 1947, Page 4

Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WED. AUGUST 20, 1947 THE FAVOURED CUSTOMER

LONDON correspondents report that New Zealand is receiving rather more than a favourable share of the British goods available for export is gratifying evidence that the Dominion still retains the goodwill of a large number of manufacturers and exporters in the United Kingdom. It is a manifestation of Empire amity of which the worth can be calculated in terms more tangible than those which must be employed to describe the bonds that unite New Zealand with the Mother Country. It is, in fact, Empire preference in action. New Zealand, by obtaining these priorities, is reaping the material reward—not altogether unexpected, it must be admitted—of unswerving loyalty and assistance in Great Britain’s time of greatest trial. But in view of the discussions on trade and tariffs at Geneva, and having in mind New Zealand’s own policy of import control, the question must be asked whether the Dominion will be able to rely on the indefinite extension of such favoured treatment. Great Britain is desperately short of money. Every year the price of her necessary imports from the dominions, the Argentine and the United States is mounting as inflationary trends in those countries soar unchecked. The loan which was negotiated with the United States recently is largely expended, and Great Britain must seek permanent and lucrative markets for the exports by which she lives. Comment in various overseas publications is witness of the fact that British exporters, in spite of their goodwill towards New Zealand, are cognisant of the possible effects on their trade of the Dominion’s import policy. It is hardly encouraging to the British manufacturer if, after offering his product to Dominion buyers, he must wait for weeks before import licences can be secured in New Zealand. The system of import control, moreover definitely operates against the interests of many British manufacturers by creating protection for uneconomic industries which supply lines formerly imported in large quantities from the United Kingdom. The reluctance of British exporters to divert their output to-, wards overcoming temporary shortages in New Zealand 'when the opportunity exists of consolidating permanent markets in other countries is perfectly understandable. Exports are the lifeblood of the British economy, and the industrial position in the United Kingdom today is so desper-. ate that goodwill towards a capricious Dominion may become a luxury too expensive for the British manufacturer to afford.