Manufacturers seek protection

Press, 8 February 1986, Page 8

Manufacturers seek protection

By

MARTIN FREETH

in Wellington Manufacturers will push for “emergency” protection against import competition when they meet Government Ministers next week. The Manufacturers’ Federation has asked for another summit with the Government to thrash out protection issues, and has said’it wants a revitalisation of the . Emergency Protection Authority as New Zealand moves away from import licensing.

The authority has existed since the mid--1970s as. an avenue for manufacturers to gain relief from import competition affecting particular good Sr < Run as part of the Industries ' Development Commission, the authority has not been used in recent years. However, manufacturers can see it increasing in importance as protection moves towards tariffs alone as part of the Government’s strategy for a more internationally efficient econ-

omy. An article in this week’s "Manufacturer,” the federation’s newspaper, says its negotiators will push for “a safety net against misadventure” in the new era of greater import competition. They want to broaden the functions of the authority and ensure it can respond quickly with a range of measures to the problems of particular manufacturers. The federation would like an independent protection authority with a

permanent staff. In the past, an Industries Development Commission commissioner has been appointed to examine and report to the Minister of Trade and Industry on manufacturers’ problems. The Minister’s office said yesterday there were several other items on the agenda for the summit on Tuesday. It will be attended by the Minister, Mr Caygill, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Mrs Shields, and possibly the Minister of

Finance, Mr Douglas. These three negotiated with manufacturers in a series of meetings last year before the Govern-, ment decided to phase out licensing from the start of this year. The manufacturers will set the scene for Tuesday’s summit by publishing this week-end research findings on the cost of various levels of protection. The federation commissioned the Well-ington-based Business and Economic Research, Ltd, to do the research.