HIGHER DUTIES

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 57, 4 September 1926, Page 7

HIGHER DUTIES

MOTOR-CARS AND TIMBER

PREFERENCE TO BRITAIN

CUSTOMS BILL PASSED,

The Customs Amendment Bill, giving effect to f o resolutions brought down this week increasing ' the duties on foreign motor-cars and timber, was passed by the House of Eepresentatives yesterday. The Minister of Customs (the Hon. W. Downie Stewart), in moving the second reading, said that the effect of the duty would be that lower-priced cars, which constituted 27 per cent, of the ca-rs imported into New Zealand, would pay less duty than they did at present. Statements had been made that the effect of the duty would be to materially adversely affect even the British cars. A prominent citizen had approached him on Thursday, however, and told him that since the resolutions were introduced he had been interviewed by Ihree of the largest American car importers to know whether they could secure British agencies. They could see at once that the new tariff would give substantial assistance to the British industry, and they were anxious to secure a share of the good business which ought to accrue. Ono of the large representatives of the importers of American cars assured him that one of the first effects of the alteration would be to cause those importing American cars to erect assembling works on the lines of the establishment at Petone. Although the speaker's object had been to help the Now Zealand body builders, if by means of the new tariff they created a further localisation of employment in New Zealand in the general assembly of cars and chassis, he thought it would serve a good purpose. When one wpighed the benefits and disadvantages of any change of the sort it seemed to him that the interests of the skilled mechanics and craftsmen were of greater importance than those of people who simply travelled through the country with selling agencies for imported cars. If the larger foreign car manufacturers followed the principle already started and established assembly works, it seemed to him that considerable en : couragement would be given to Now Zealand skilled craftsmen. Great Britain took 79.8 per cent, of our produce, but while unemployment was so rifo there New Zealand' could not sell lib of butter to an unemployed man unless he had some money, so the more New Zealand helped British industry the better it would be for the Dominion. An importer of British cars had told him ho was confident that the effect of the change would be tJiat British manufacturers would, in order to save heavy freight in bringing out their cars in complete form, bring out their chassis and have the bodies built by Now Zealand body builders. By being able to save freight they would be able to sell their cars moro cheaply than at present.