THE RECIPROCITY NEGOTIA-TIONS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1079, 18 March 1911, Page 5

THE RECIPROCITY NEGOTIATIONS.

FREE-TRADE NOT PROPOSED. By Telegraph—Press Association—Oopyriclit Ottawa, March 16. In reply to questions, Mr. AY. S. Fielding, Minister for Finance, stated' in the Canadian House of Commons that no Free-trado proposals had been made to or by tho United States during tho reciprocity negotiations. Tho Canadian reprevmtativos had at tho outset, , announced that they were not prepared to includc manufactures in the agreoment. I BIG AMERICAN GAIN PREDICTED. • Now York, March 16.. Mr. John Osborne, Chief of tho United States Bureau of Trado Rel.v tions, estimates that Canada's imports during 1017 will be 65 per cent-, American. CANADIAN TRADE. As a young and growing country Canada , has large exports and still larger iui- J purls. Most of her exports go to Great j Britain; most of her imports come from ■ the United States. With a population | of less than 8,000,000, she ranks next to Great Britain and Germany in tho list of United Stntes customers. For the year ending with March, IDIO, the figures . are:—' EXPORTS. Great Britain. United Stales. Dol. Dol. Value 110,000,000 113,100,000 ' Percentage 48 52 IMPORTS. Value (free) ... 23,500,000 1.13,000,000 Do. (dutiable)... 72,200,000 101,700,000 Percentage ' ,'lO 70 Canada and tin United States are geographically inter-dependent to an important degree. The United States looks'o Canada for nickel, copper, asbestos, spruce, pulp, timber, lisli, and, in certain contingencies, agricultural produce. Canada looks, to the United States for row cotton, tobacco, hard coal, hardwoods, Indian corn, and a long list of manufactured wares, cspceally those subjcct in quick and, taken singly, rather small orders. For the year ending with March. 1910, apart from settler?' cileets and bullion, what may be clawed as raw material mado up 33 per cent, of Ilia imports, as against 7 per cent, from Great Britain. In both cases this raw material is mado up of remarkably few items. Fixc-sixths of that coming from the United States is represented by the following (in million dollars) Coal, 27.3; Indian corn, 5.1; lumber. 4.2; green fruits, 3.7; undressed furs, hides, and skins, J.!!; raw tobacci, 2.!); guttapercha, 3.3; nietal ores, 2.7; bar iron, . iron sheets, and scrap iron, 2.0. Apart from the last item, theso. purchases, one may admit, are more or less fixed. Of the British 7 per rent, none of the items cm be regarded as fixed :--Bar iron, iron sheets, and scrap iron, 2.15; undressed hides, skins, and' furs, 2.1; washed wool, .07: breadslulTs. in- 1 eluding seed, .55: diamonds, .51; breeding nnimsh, .53; salt, .25; coal, .22; fruits, .17; raw tobacco, ,OG.