IMPORT DROP

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 139, 10 December 1930, Page 9

IMPORT DROP

AUSTRALIAN TRADE

FIGURES BALANCE

Definite action taken by the Common* wealth Labour (Seullin) Government shortly after it assumed office twelve months ago to rectify Australia's adverse trad© balance has proved a suei cesa to the extent that there is now an; excess of exports, including '• /bullion,! aver imports. The Melbourne "Age" reports that the Acting-Premier, Mr. Fehton, gava in the House of Representatives a com* parison of the imports and exports foj; the six months ended 30th September* 1929—the last half-year of the Brucei Page Government's regime—with thosa for the corresponding half of 1930, They were:— ■ . September Half-year, 1929. , ' ■ . Bullion . j Merchandise, and Specie, Total. | £ £ " :; £ Imports .. 72,849,840 155,840:. •73,005,68* Exports .. 48,555,290 3,428,33.6 . 52,283,628 Adverse balance, 1929 ...... 20.722,05* September Half-year, ;i930.) Imports .. 43,964,550 194,489.' 44,159,0311 Exports .. 40,573,738 9,638,745 ' 50,212,483 Favourable balance ........ 6.053,44* Imports for September, 1930, wera, £6,119,730, as compared with £12,387,4 639 for September, 1929. This was the* greatest falling off in any month o^ the half-year mentioned. ' ,It will be seen, says the..Age," that the trade balance-has been- reduced byj approximately £19,000,000 during tha six months period of , this, year, and, after allowing for the increased export of £6,000,000 in bullion and specie, the imports and exports practically balanced This was the aim of the Government when it introduced its new tariff schedules. 'The position when the Labour Party took office demanded, drastic action to stop the-heavy flow of imports and, to quote tiie Prime Minister 's\ own. words, "extraordinary action was taken as an emergency; measure.' J : . • ..' ;: Mr. Fenton commented on the wiping out of the adverse trade balance in such. a shoit period. "We have achieved, what we'set out to achieve," he-said^ '' and now we look forward to the time when for the first time for years oue exports will exceed, our imports." The Acting-Minister of Customs, Mr^ Forde, said that some of the remedies applied to restore the trade balancaj were at the time of their introduction, unpopular with a certain section, but he believed now that the majority of th« people realised that the Government's action was absolutely necessary. .During the seven years the Bruce Ministry held, office the aggregate adverse trade balance was £90,000,000. "The"amount of money borrowed in England during the period was £123,000,000, most of which; came to Australia in the. form of imported goods.- Early this" year'he (Mr. Forde), with the Prime Minister and the then Treasurer, conferred with some of the leading bankers of Australia, and they stressed the absolute necessity for drastic action by the Government to> stem the tide of imports. Failing this, the bankers pointed out that 4 there would be nothing short of financial disaster. • The Government then decidecj on bold steps. Luxury lines -were pro* hibited from entering the Commonwealth, some were rationed,; while ou other lines a surcharge was imposed, and it was now more than gratifying to know that the adverse trade balance had been wiped out. v Beplying to a question in the House of the Government quoted the following figures showing that a huge factor in the adverse trade balance of last'year (ended 30th June)j was'the United States:— ' 1 . . Imports. Exports, .■' ■.-.•■.. ■ ■ ,;. '' .:- £ . £ Great Britain ... 54,270,690 65,998,201; Other parts of British . Empire 15,906,422 15,684,934 United ' States -of ■ America ..:....... 30;299,011 5;233,72X Other foreign countries 29.070,439 35,210,23S