Untitled

Hokitika Guardian, 5 December 1921, Page 2

A n un dismissing the conditions under which it is possible for the foreign importer to be fore ad to shoulder the Customs duties, the report says:--As a general rule it may lie confidently expected that any addition to the rates of duties will at the outset, and for probably a. number of years, mean higher prices by approximately the amounts of the duty. If, however, the local industries la-come well organised it is possible that, after the lapse of several years their increased efficiency may enable them to place the goods on the market at prices lower than those rilling in the initial stages of protection. As it is evidence that increases or decreases in the rates of duty will be reflected in the prices of goods on the. local market, it will be necessary for some official organisation, such as the Department of Industries and Commerce to exercise care that no unnecessary addition is made to the ]w ices of locally nuunifak'tured goods. .Increased protection could, tlioi»foiv, reasonably be followed by more detailed supervisien and control of the industries concerned. In the evidence it appears repeatedly that the industries themselves would welcome some measure of control rather than face the uncertainty of business operations under the existing tariff. It is true i however, that much of this uiiecrtaintv would disappear without increased j protection provided adequate provision ! could be made against the dumping of i goods. It may be accepted, therefore, ! that there is a general consensus of j opinion among the mainifa<*turors of I the Dominion that if protection is granted to them, they would at the j same time be prepared to submit to j no me form of price control. Power I to achieve this is provided under the Hoard of Trade Act. and the Departi ment of Industries and Commerce, ; could if required, regulate the prices of , woods produced by the more important industries of the countries which receive protection. One benefit of snob | control would be the ability of tile Department to indicate those industries

which continue to subsist solely upon 1 i the amount of protection granted, and l which are unsuited to bo continued | in existence. In such cases notice of ( 1 removal of the duty within a stated I time could be given to enable them to wind up their affairs with the least possible inconvenience. We consider this an important matter and strongly j urge, that every endeavour be made to j prevent industries from becoming con- | scrvntivp by reason of the protection afforded by the tariff. We must keep j them progressive, so that in time to j : collie it may be possible to have the protective tariff gradually removed or considerably reduced, leaving only the anti-dumping provisions on the Statute Itoiik. If tin 1 industries are made secure from foreign compotctiuii. there i must inevitably bo a tendency lor j them to lapse into obsolete methods of 1 production, and it is essential that this i tendency should be counteracted by (1) i direct encouragement of scientific research and efficient business oiganisation; and (2) close supervision by the ; Department of Industries and Commerce to ensure that the protection afj forded by the tariff is not more than | necessary.