The Press FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 1935. The Meat Situation

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21417, 8 March 1935, Page 10

The Press FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 1935. The Meat Situation

I The announcement by the Australian Press Association that the J British White Paper on meat imI ports makes the general situation ;■■ easier to grasp"' is, to say the i least, an exaggeration. A perusal of the cabled summary of the White ; Paper, of the Australian Press Association's interpretation of the : White Paper, and of the comments |by Mr Coates and Dr. Earle Page i reveals an amazing number of ; doubts and seeming contradictions. I It is possible, however, by reading !the summary of the White Paper iin conjunction with Mr Walter Elliot's statement in the House of ; Commons on February 18, to arrive at a reasonably clear idea of the main lines of the British Government's policy. Political opposition to quotas on the ground that they will raise prices, coupled with the f refusal of the governments of the Dominions to abandon voluntarily their rights under the Ottawa agreements, has brought Mr Elliot to the view that the best method of protecting the British meat grower is to remove the present restrictions on imports, which have not been adequate as a means of raising prices, and substitute a levy on all imported meat. In addition, though Dr. Page seems to have doubts on this point, it is proposed to give tariff preference to meat from the Dominions. It is possible, indeed probable, that this arrangement would result in intensified competition and a fall in the prices received by Dominion producers; but that, according to both Mr Elliot and the White Paper, is a matter which will not concern the British Government. It is open for the governments of the Dominions to arrange quantitative regulation of shipments to the British market if they so desire. What the governments of the Dominions think of these proposals is not clear; but if they are wise they will be very reluctant to accept a scheme which involves cut-throat competition against the subsidised British producer. Moreover, they must recognise that, if they accept the proposals, the chances of arranging some voluntary limitation of shipments afterwards will be remote. The White Paper indicates clearly that the British Government does not regard the levy scheme as a permanent solution of the problem and that a " drastic reduction of imports from - all sources" will ultimately be necessary. In the circumstances the Dominions might get better terms by accepting now and with a good grace what they will have forced on them in the end.