Hawaiian Threat To N.Z. Meat Imports

Press, Volume C, Issue 29500, 29 April 1961, Page 13

Hawaiian Threat To N.Z. Meat Imports

(N.Z.P. A.•Reuter—Copyright) HONOLULU, April 27. New Zealand’s trade position with the United States was threatened by a bill before the Hawaii State Legislature to outlaw the importation of New Zealand and Australian meat, trade experts said today, United Press International reported.

The experts, who were not named, had come from Australia and New Zealand to attend a hearing into the Bill held by the State Legislature yesterday. A lawyer representing six Honolulu meat wholesalers (Mr Robert Dodge) said the Bill could ruin the export trade of 100 million dollars worth of Australian goods to the United States.

The Bill had been approved by the State Senate, and was being considered by the House of Representatives, UP.I. said. Australian and New Zealand representatives who arrived in Honolulu several days ago had said that their Governments had expressed grave concern over the possibility of the Bill's passage. The Bill would require all beef, veal or calf sold on the island of Oahu. Hawaii, to be graded by United States standards. Australian and New Zealand meat could not be graded in the United States because it was shipped in a boneless and frozen state. U.P.I. said.

Mr Dodge told the inquiry yesterday that if the Bill was passed by both houses he hoped the Governor of Hawaii (Governor William Quinn) would veto it on the grounds that it violated not only Hawaii law, but United

States constitutional and treaty provisions.

The lawyer said that no individual State could change the terms of a federal treaty between nations, and that meat importation into the United States from Australia and New Zealand was covered by such an agreement.

Mr Dodge said that supporters of the legislation had suggested by intimation that limiting meat imports into Hawaii to meat that had been graded by United States inspectors was a protection against inferiority. But. he said, “the grading of meat has no relationship to the wholesomeness or purity of the product and cannot be used as a device to prevent the importation of beef into Hawaii that the Congress of the United States has permitted to enter.” No decision was announced at the hearing.