THE CUSTOMS TARIFF

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 210, 30 May 1919, Page 4

THE CUSTOMS TARIFF

—: o AMENDMENTS FORESHADOWED. Some important references to the Customs tariff were made at the Chamber of Commerce gathering yesterday .by the Minister of Customs (the Hon. A.- M. Myers). The Minister foreshadowed a new arrangement for the correction _of tariff anomalies and a special provision designed to protect New Zealand from dumping. The question of dumping, said Mr. Myers, had been brought under his notice as Minister of Customs! Canada had had on its statute-hook for many years a provision to prevent, by means of a special duty, the dumping of goods in that Dominion at prices less than Ihe domestic values in the exporting country. He believed that the altered conditions following the war would necessitate'the adoption oT some such scheme in New Zealand. A clause dealing with the matter had been drafted for submission to Parliament when opportunity arrived, (Applause.) . The New Zealand tariff as at present arranged, added Mr. Myers, was not sufficiently elastic to meet the rapidly changing conditions of trade and commerce. The last general revision of the la'iff was made in 1907. Rectifications wero now required in many directions, but as matters stood the-alterations could not ■satisfactorily be made except at the time of a general revision of the tariff, and then not in the best way. The Go?ernnient had under consideration a scheme by which, when it appeared advisable that the tariff on any article should lie altered, the matter could be referred to an advisory committee. On the recommendation of this committee the Minister of Customs, with the approval of the House of Representatives, would be able to modify the tariff in the direction deemed necessary. He believed that sonic such scheme would be of great advantage, to the manufacturers of Now Zealand, and especially to those who were establishing new fnifflstries.