TARIFF COMMENTS

Evening Star, Issue 19661, 14 September 1927, Page 6

TARIFF COMMENTS

“Speaking generally, it is felt that practically’ no consideration has been shown to dominion manufacturers by tiie new proposals, and in view of the recent utterances of responsible Ministers there is a general feeling that the Government has I ailed to carry’ out its pledges indicated in the Ministers’ remarks.” This statement was made by Mr Thomas Somerville, president of the Dunedin Many lecturers’ Association, to a ‘ Star ’ reporter to-dayq after ho had ascertained the views of local manufacturers with dominion-wide interests. From his remarks it wa<s clear that the manufacturer,s wore sadly disappointed with tho new tariff schedule. “ A further meeting ol Dunedin manufacturers has been arranged iqr Monday afternoon, when the new tar ill proposals will be fully’ discussed,” said Dir‘Somerville. “The time at tho disposal of the manufacturers concerned has so far nob been sufficient to enable a considered statement to be made. “ Quo of the main reasons for the application by the manufacturers tor assistance to local industries through a system of tariff revision was tho increased cost of production of locallymanufactured goods through the opciation of the awards made by tho Arbitration Court. In some important industries no revision of the tariff’ has taken place for twenty years, but in that period wages have been increased practically every lew years. In the present tariff this point has been quite overlooked. “ From ft cursory glance through tne new schedule it, would appear that the Government has only removed a number of anomalies and_ given some relief to a very few industries, and that it would have been better, therefore, if the Government had been frank some mouths ago and indicated that that was its proposal, and thus saved an immense amount of money and time given to the preparation of their cases by industries which felt that they had a strong claim for consideration. “The few alterations to the tariff indicate auito dearly the necessity of immediately bringing into being a tariff board to which application could he made where industries are_ hard pressed, without having to wait fo> another long period before a revision is made. The operations of this hoard in Australia and a similar one tu Great Britain arc proving of immense service to the manufacturers of those countries. “The manufacturers of New Zealand have been urged to make and have made meritorious displays of their pro mictions in exhibitions throughout tho dominion, to show both the Cabinet Ministers and tho public what could lie tecomnhshod. It was anticipated ihai the result would be that greater assistance would ho given through the medium of the tariff to iiirthqr tinco of tiio Xcw Zcnhuid iiulufitiml effort. “ f think it can be claimed Hint any proposal for an increase in tariff ba.i been put forward by no manufacture] with a desire that it should be a pro hibitivc tariff,” concluded Air Somerville. “Tho general opinion of maim facturer.s is that_ they require such measure of protection that by indusUy, efficiency, and economy’ that particulai industry 7 could bo developed. However, most applicants for increase in duly have stated frankly that, provided no supstaritial ’nmnsea occur in raw material or in tho rate of wages, no increase would bo mado in tho price ol the finished article; rather, in the event of increased production secured, prices would bo lowered.”

TIMBER INDUSTRY UTILE RELIEF GIVEN “1 do not think tho new in rills will bo of much relief to iho timber industry of New Zealand,” stated a prominent timber merchant and miller. The most important revision was the increase on dressed lines Irom 4s per 10U super feet to 7s Ud. The millers had expected a good deal more—-at least IDs—and tho extra duty by the new arrangements really meant only approximately 2s lid on flooring and Is 9d on lining. The millers wanted to dress Iho timber in New Zealand, so as to keep tho workers employed. Times iiad been slack, and through tho importation of dressed timber the machinists had been unable to give lull value lor tho wages received. They were capable of greater production if their employees wore given a chanco by protection against imported dressed timber. Jhe millers had been unable to compete against tho imported lines One of tho big advantages of the new tarilf was its effect on the importation of 4 x 2 studs, against which the millers in New Zealand had been long opposed. An increase of 3s per BiO super feet on this line was welcomed. A lot of dressed joinery timber had been coming into tho dominion lately, and tho duty would assist in decreasing the importations. Tho New Zealand red pine timber, known as “clean for dressing,” would be helped by tho 3s increase on the duty on timber n.e.i., tho new duty being 5s per 100 feet. Oregon came under this schedule, and iho red pino would bo more able to enter into the eompetition.^ “ We cannot cut the long timber in our mills, and the Government are only taking Is per 100 ft for their own pocket,” said the merchant, tv hen discussing the new duty on heavy constructional timber. Timber having a length of not less than 25ft and a minimum cross-sectional area of no loss than 150 square inches has been raised from 2s to 3s per 100 super feet. “ Tho millers would not have cared if that big stuff bad been reduced in duly and extra protection given to the dressed lines. The importation of the timber for constructional work will not bo effected in the least by tho increase.

A furniture man was of the opinion that tho increase in tariffs on timber would have little effect on tho furnitu * trade. A builder said the main increases were on small sizes of timber, vTicb would have- a slight effect on cottagebuilding. The mercantile construction would not be affected, as the increase on heavy timbers was negligible, and, in any case, would not stop tho importation One instance whore tho tariff shuffle would give no benefit to the New Zealand manufacturers was given by tho manager of a big joinery firm. Door stocks (in the rough) had been imported for manufacture in New Zealand, while competition had to be met from ready-made American and Canadian doors. The Minister had increased tho dutv on the completed door by 5 per cent.* but he had also increased the

Manufacturers Disappointed Pledges Not Tarried Out “ No Consideration to Local Industry ”

■ tariff on door stocks by a corresponding percentage, thus millil.ving any benefit to the Inca! industry wdiich might have accrued ii the tariff on stock had been left untouched. FfIEFiSHAHT'S PROPHECY HiSP.EASE IN ENGLISH PRICES “ The whole effect of the increase in the foreign tariffs is simply that the English will _ put up their prices correspondingly,’' declared one merchant. “ The is simply giving 5 per cent, extra to British manufacturers, and there will he no benefit to the public.” On the whole the nmv tariff did not give much occasion lor adverse comment. Jlowcvor, little evidence was given of the expected decreases to reduce the cost of Jiving. No exception could he taken to the few advances in the tariffs in lavor of dominion secondary producers, save where anomalies were apparent. %Thoso concerned would ho quick in asking the Minister of Customs to rdctily the anomalies. To him, the considerable increase of rates under the heading of ‘‘General Tariff” seemed the outstanding feature, and the effect would bo to increase the preference to British manufacturers. After a rapid perusal of the new tariffs, a warehouseman said the rise of 5 per cent, on the iarills on clothing and other goods from the Continent would have little cflcct on portations. A big quantity of Continental manufacturers were entering the dominion. A Customs and shipping agent declined to give his views on the general tariff revision, hut lie said that the new schedule was more concise and the tariffs were more easily ascertained than under the old schedules. An improvement had been made in that respect. BUSH m SCHEDULES FRESH SUPPLY NECESSARY Just to what extent ihe business men of the city were interested in the alterations to the Customs tariff' was demonstrated in some degree last night, when there was a great rush on the Customs House lor the new tariff schedules. Telegraphic advice was received last night that the resolutions had passed the House, twenty copies being soldAltogether seventy-five copies of _ the schedule wore received, and apart irom those already disposed of. the. remainder were ordered, and it has been found necessary to send lor more copies, which will he available on Finday. WHiSKY R9ERGHAHT SCORES 810 HOT SPECULATE ’Tis easy to he easy after the event, hub there is at least one wine and spirit merchant in Dunedin who is chuckling gleeiully to-day. Tile reason is not lar to seek. He announced this morning that the laet that there was no nicrcasc in the duty on wines and spirits came as no surprise to his linn. Though he slated that practically every wholesale Jinn in New Zealand cleared the spirits from the bonds in expectation of the rumored rise, his firm hung on lived in the belief that a further rise in the duty on whisky was next to impossible if the retailers were io he considered at all. He is now congratulating himself that his linn did not share in the general stampede to clear Hie honcF, which has been going on lor some lime past. CALGULATIOKS UPSET SPIRIT BERCiIAKTS CAUGHT That there was a general impression that the tariff on whisky and spirits would show an upward trend is evidenced by the fact that all available whiskv held in the local bonds was cleared by T o clock yesterday afternoon. , , , From the way Unit clearances had been going on during Hie past three months, it is apparent Hint merchants had been led to believe that an increase in tariff' was imminent. The merchan s took the gamble, which has conic ol two or Hirer; times in Hie past, hut one who lias been closely associated "ill the whiskv irado for a long H"iO past said Hint he failed to underhand how the merchants were led into thinking there would he a rise warni o 1m reasoning man it was apparent that Hie duty on whisky was quire, hi fa h enough at the present time. “The majority ol ns nine la..cn m, hut taken ail round, 1 flunk it is a godsend to Hio merchants that, too duty on whisky has not been raised, was the philosophical view tout was taken by a leading wine and spirit merchant when ho was ask«. lor his opinion on the matter ol the Hind v which Hie duty on whisky and odm. spirits remains as be)ore. _ r Ho stated that the. ma.iorily Oi merchants had been clearing, but i ■ thought that little lault would be found with Hie decision to leave the tariff unaltered, for the merchants would much sooner pay Hie interest than thev would see Hie consumption lessoned——which would, he resultant were the price of whisky io the consumer raised. The clearing ol whisky Irom the bonds in Dunedin began in .lime hut, it has been fairly general throughout the dominion, (hough opinion is divided as to whether the scare had its origin in Dunedin or in Auckland. Ho slated, however, that the last time alterations were made in the duty most of Hm bonds had been cleared, and the following year saw the duty doubled- . On this occasion there had not been so heavy a purchase on the part of the retailer, and the merchant states that in view of the present cost of whisky to the consumer, ho did not think it would have stood an increase over the bar on the present proportion of profit. Summing up, ho said that it would take only a few months for the interest to bo cleared in the stores, and the position was really that the Government had got a loan free of interest.

GENERAL MERCHANDISE AFFECTED A LITTLE The alterations to the Customs tariff have little hearing on general merchandise, and a local merchant stated that the majority of lines of general merchandise would not he affected at all. The duty on American canned fruits and certain tinned products had gone up 5 per cent., and the duty on cocoa showed an increase of 20 per cent. He accounted for the removing of the protection on certain products by the fact that local manufacturers had not appreciated the advantages conferred upon them, and thus their privileges had been taken away. The same merchant was at a to understand why the 1 per cent, primage was still retained. It was a wartime measure, and should have been removed years ago. For 1926 the collection under it, lie thought, amounted to UJi2,97T. _____ FRUIT TRADE The fruit trade is affected hut little by the tariff revision, the only alteration being that a nnivcmal duty of 100 per cent, lias been imposed upon foreign grown lemons. Thus, instead of being Id per lb, Hie duty will ho 2d per lb. A local fruit merchant states that this will favor the North Island, where lemons are grown, hut ho said that Now Zealand Icimpis were such that; when they reached Dunedin they were often in a wasted condition, and many were lost. Thus imported lemons were stocked, and the increase in duty will mean a. penalty upon purchasers of this fruit. CATTLE AND HORSES Gallic and horses (apart Irom stud animals) arc now to he allowed in duty free, but the head of a leading mercantile firm stated that there was little in Urn revision, for the number of horses imported into New Zealand at the present time was practically negligible. An odd racehorse or Clydesdale stallion is imported, hut that is about all. Little cattle importing is done, though there is an increase in times ot droughts, while cattle are occasionally imported irom Home, hut not in any largo .numbers. A SOUND REVISi&N [IT.T. U.nitkd Psf.ss Association.] WELLINGTON, September 1-1. The British Trade Commissioner, Mi; Beale, said he regarded the revision of the tariff as a sound it was certainly in the best interest of the producers and the consumers of the dominion, for the reason that it reduced the duties on tilings used by all classes in every home, it facilitated the introduction ol raw materials and machinery to bo used in local industries, and it enlarged the policy of British Empire preference, and contained important proposals lor increasing the markets lor .xew Zealand products overseas. Jr, as lie hoped and believed, the changes meant greater trade in British goods to New Zealand, the result of the enlarged capacity oi employment of workpeople at Homo would surely he automatically relleetcd in the ability ol the people oi the United Kingdom to purchase more New Zealand produce. He thought the tariff a most able effort on tnc part ol the Government to adjust uic conditions governing the economic position of New Zealand in that increased and regular employment was asskled. Factors entering into cost of production were lowered in price, and many items in everyday use .were reduced, and practical partnership ol the. Empire was exprere-ed in the clearest terms. The prospects, too, of wider markets lor New Zealand produce were greatly enhanced by Hie proposals outlined 'in the appendix. CHRISTCHURCH MANUFACTURERS DISSATISFIED [I'KU Usitcd liir-ss Association.] CTIinSTCHUKCiI, Fontember 14. AlHiough an official statement has not yet been made by the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association regarding the revision of the tariff, an indication was given to-day flint the members ol Hie association arc very dissatisfied. Many of them feel that little or no attention has been paid by the tommissiou to the evidence that was tendered by the manufacturers. A special meeting of the Tariff Commit tee of the will ho held to consider the matter this atiornoon. It came as an agreeable surprise to a good many people to find that the tariff on spirits remains as formerly. WELLINGTON OPINIONS MANUFACTURERS DISAPPOINTED [Fur: United Tkcss Association•'] WELLINGTON, September FtThat the interests of New Zealand maiinl'acluror.s have not been sulhcientiy considered, and that the question of assisting them has been nibbled at, is the opinion of Mr Camphell, president ol the 'Wellington Manufacturers’ Association, ft was a good tariff' for the British manufacturer, as wherever possible a snlj-t initial increase had been given. Had Hu; same pretnrence been given (he New Zealand manufacturers a step forward in the secondary industries would have been certain. .. , Mr Charles M. Bowden, president ot the Wellington Chamber of Coinmeice, .speaking in regard to Hio tariff, explored warm appreciation ot the underlying principle enunciated— viz., to encourage still tnrlher trade in gooes produced in tlie British Empire, id was earnestly to he hoped that the elfee fc of the proposals would he to swing trade lo Britain. It could not he overstressed that New Zealand's prosperity was crcat!v dependent "Po", the state of trade in Britain. Further assistance granted to local industries was also a move in the right direction. It had often been slated that the prosperity of the dominion was dependent on ihe primary industries, hut that was only a half-truth, and it was pleasure to see the growing recognition that Hm so-called primary industries ami secondary industries were interdependent. 1 -ii u “ While the remissions made will D® welcome.” ho fund, nevertheless I cannot see any justification for the .statement made when Hie income tax proposals were being considered, that an increase in income taxation to the, family in,in would ha largely offset by the rotnivrioiis it’ the C nistoms tssn.Hon. The remissions in tho main nro on articles which do not affect him dire-ctL.” , Mr Vi. K. Hill, manager of General Meier.-;, expressed liinreelt well .satisfied with the 5 per cent, advantage granted over imported assembled motors. His firm employed .TOO men at I’etonc, and the company had a capital of £500,000. “W© are,” he said, “naturally pleased that the Government has recognised the importance cl our contribution to the dominion s industrial welfare.”

DR FISHER'S VIEWS HIGH TARIFF UNDESIRABLE “People who noted with satisfaction the resolutions of the World Economic Conference at Geneva last June will he inclined to test now tariff proposals by the extent to which they conform to the principles there adopted,” commented Dr Fisher, professor of economics at Otago University, when asked for his opinion on the tariff proposals. “ Recovery from tho effects of the war, the conference declared, has been unduly delayed, and tho foreign commerce of all nations is in greater or lesser degree seriously hampered by existing obstacles to trade. Tariffs are lor the most part higher than before the war, and aro at present one of the chief barriers to trade. The Government's proposals,” ho added, “do not disclose any startling moves in the direction of removing obstacles to trade, but in 1 10 present state of the balance of political power this was not to be expected; and it is gratifying to know that the Government is still of opinion that a high protective tariff policy is not in our best interests. The effort to attain selfsufficiency, it was stated at Genova, cannot hope to succeed unless it is justified by the size, natural resources, economic advantages, and geographical situation of a country. There are very few countries in tho world which can hope to attain it, and it is quite certain that New Zealand is not one of them. “ Without necessarily approving of all tho detailed proposals, it may bo agreed that any move in tho direction of reducing the volume of Customs revenue by lowering duties should be welcomed. Direct taxation is seldom popular, but it is usually much fairer than indirect, and it is much easier to ascertain its real incidence. There seems, however, to be no reason why our Government should not adopt tho British plan of submitting the whole of its taxation proposals simultaneously with the Budget statement. A taxation system can only be satisfactorily studied as a whole, and it is highly desirable that the public should be informed of all proposed changes at tho same time. “ It is to bo hoped that the Government will never accept the view which is implicit in some criticisms cf their proposals that the amount of protection given to industries should bo in some way related to the effort expended in placing evidence before tho Tariff Commission. One of tbo strongest practical objections to tariffs is tho fact that they tend to direct tho attention of manufacurers from the management of their own businesses to tho management of the people who control tho tariff. It would bo a pity if New Zealand manufacturers, whoso success in the past has been largely due to their own energy and managerial capacity, should be encouraged to waste their time in this way.” “ LITTLE DIFFERENCE " SMALL INCREASE OH IMPORTED CONFECTIONERY Mr R. Hudson, of the well-known confectionery manufacturing firm, in commenting on the proposals as far as it affected tho confectionery business, said that they would make very little diftercue. “We asked the Tariff Commission,” he explained, “for a duty of 25 per cent, ad val., and wo got 20 per cent. This means that tho lower priced imported lines will not be affected in any way, though there will be an increase on tho more ex]M2iisive ones. The low-price lines, in fact, will not have to pay so much as under tho old tariff. Nearly all the raw material used in manufacturing is still on the free list. Tho tariff on foreign confectionery has been raised, but this will not make much difference, because there aro few American or Continental brands of chocolates on tho market, therefore the big increase is no help at all.” “A TERRIBLE SHOCK" DIG INCREASE OH FILMS The general complaint amongst manufacturers in the city was that tho alterations were not high enough, but there, was ”one section of the business community who had a dilferent view of the matter. This was those connected with picture interests. They were unanimous that if the proposal to increase the duty on foreign film from Id to 3d per foot was adopted, those who patronised picture shows would have to pay more for their amusement. A ‘ Star ’ representative interviewed Messrs S. Pitt (manager of the Empire Theatre), W. Kritsch (representing Paramount interests in the dominion), and F. Neilson (another picture theatre manager), who agreed that tho proposed increase would bo a serious matter for them. Mr Pitt pointed out that 10,000 ft of film was required for an ordinary programme, and it could be seen that tho increase would he substantial. He stated that tho present dutv paid on a feature film of 6,000 ft amounted to £27, and it would now have to pay £Bl. “It only wants daylight saving to come on top of this and the picture business will be in a sorry way. “Yes,” Jig continued, “flic price of admission is sure to go up. The big increase came as a terrible shock to us; we expected a moderate increase, but wo never conceived it possible that tho Government would put on 200 per cent.” Mr Pitt said the reason for tho increase was that tho Government wanted to encourage British film manufacturers, but the trouble was that there was so few British films being made. “Wo aro always willing,” ho said, “ to show all the British film we can obtain, but the trouble is that there is so little of it.” A point also stressed by Mr Pitt was that all tho picture theatres in the dominion had New Zealand capital sunk in them, and if the present proposals went through hundreds of shareholders would suffer. There was also the possibility of having to dispense with many employees. ME BODY BUILDERS DISSATISFIED A trading Dunedin motor body manufacturer said that tho now proposals wero very unsatisfactory, and the motor body builders had a just grievance against the Government. The proposals afforded practically no protection at all, and ho could not understand why the G’ovej'nment had ignored the evidence that had been presented to the Tariff Commission.