Reaction To Suggestion On "Monitor" Imports

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30977, 5 February 1966, Page 17

Reaction To Suggestion On "Monitor" Imports

“There has been a great deal of reaction." said the leader of a 15-man Birmingham trade mission to New Zealand (Mr H. Baskerville) in Christchurch when asked to enlarge on a statement he made in Wellington on Tuesday. In an address to the Wellington Rotary Club, Mr Baskerville suggested that if 5 per cent of New Zealand requirements of a manufac-, tured commodity were imported. New Zealanders would■ have a clear indication of world quality and pr.ces. “It must be said, and in discussions with Mr Shelton (the Minister of Customs) it i was quite clear that there is token licensing on a great many items which are cur-'i rently manufactured in Newp Zealand,” Mr Baskerville | i said. “But these token licences L in quantities based on the ■ 1956 level of activity and i level of import, may not be ‘ anything like in keeping with the 5 per cent I suggested. "Five per cent might be a reasonable monitor at present. 1 don’t feel it is unrealistic at all. In fact, there are some items for which there is a greater than 5 per cent token import related to 1956 levels. “But the point I was really making was that if consumer goods in particular and a number of industrial goods are to be manufactured in any country there must be a certain proportion of I goods from other parts of ■ the world to act as a suitable j monitor on quality and price | to ensure the efficiency and productivity of the local , manufacturer.” ] This was in no way a re- ; flection on New Zealand i quality and prices. It was a fundamental factor that ap- i plied throughout the world. “We in Great Britain can 1 welcome the fact that New i Zealand is going towards in- : dustrialisation,” said Mr Bas- I kerville. “This means we i must cease to export to New I Zealand the kind of goods I

which we have traditionally exported here. But we will replace these exports by new and more exotic products with much greater technical content, which is in keeping with modern trends in British industry.” At a reception to the Birmingham trade mission the Minister of Finance i (Mr Lake) said that since his party had been the Government in the last five years ■imports had gone up substantially every year. ‘‘And at the moment I am not very enthusiastic about j stimulating British exports to New Zealand because I am the person who has to find the money,” said Mr Lake. “This year will be the highest year for imports that we have ever had. We have had something of a balance-of-payments problem.” The president of the South . Island Publicity Association I (Mr H P. Smith) made the [Birmingham visitors honorary i South Islanders.