RECIPROCITY.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 July 1922, Page 3

RECIPROCITY.

TARIFF AGREEMENT (NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA) RATIFICATION BILL.

By various prov*ision s of the Customs Amendment Act, 1921, powers are conferred oil the Governor-Cen-tral to alter the Tariff by Order in Council. Pursuant to this authority the General Tariff was, by Order in Council of 22nd December, 1921, (Gazette 1.921, p. 3023). applied to goods being the produce or manufacture of the Commonwealth of Australia in lieu of the British Preferential Tariff. Recently a reciprocal Tariff agreement. (as set out in the Appendix to the Bill) ha-i been arrived at between the tv,o countries. By section ten of th ■ A t above referred to it is expressly provided that no such a.’ivem- . i shall have any effect unless and until it is ratified by Parliament. The purpose of the Bill ij to ratify the agreement accordingly. This having been done, the alteration of the rate of duties -"'iff he effected by means of an Order in Council, issued under the authority conferred hv the Act of last session, and operating irom a date to be fixed in terms of the agreement.

The Bill also provides that any .subsequent- agreement for the modification of the present agreement may come into force without ratification. Any such modifying agreement can only lie made operative by means of an Order of the Council under the Amendment Act of 1921. tint! such Order in Council will still require to be submitted to Parliament as provided in Section lliirty-one of that Act.

APPENDIX. Agreement made this eleventh day of April, one thousand nine Imnlrcd and twenty-two, between the Commonwealth of Australia (hereinafter called “the Commonwealth”), o| the one part, and the Dominion of New Zealand (hereinafter Jailed “the Dominion”) of the other part:— Whereas, with a view to the ar•ranoement of more equitable trade telations between the Commonwealth and the Dominion, the Ministers of Customs for the said countries have agreed to recommend to their respective Parliaments Customs duties in accordance with the Solicit!k‘ attached hereto: Now, therefore, it is hereby agreed as follows: — ’ .

1. The said Schedule shall come into force on a date to he proclaimed by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth and the Governor-General of the Dominion, after the Parliaments of both countries have signified their acceptance thereof. and shall (subject to the provisions of the Agreement) remain in force until six months’ notice of the termination thereof has been given by either party. 9. Tlk» (\)in?noii\v(*altli shall not pose any Customs duty or increase tl,n rot,, of any Customs duty on any mtticije entering 'the Commonwealth from the Dominion and the Dominion shall not impose any Customs’ duty ot increase the rate of any Customs duty on any article entering the Dominion front the Commonwealth (whether such is or is not specially enumerated in the Schedule hereto, and whether such art id i s or is not dutiable at tbe date of this Agreement), except by mutual ivreonipiit. until six months notice to' tbe other party to tins Agreement. 3 Nothing in this Agreement shall 1,0 construed to affect tbe right of the Common wealth or of the Dominion to impose new duties upon any articles for the protection of any new industry established or proposed to lie established in the Commonwealth or the Dominion, as the ease mn> be: p’ovidetl that such new duties do not exceed the duties imposed on the imnirtation of similar articles from the I'nited Kingdom into the Commonwealth or the Dominion, as the ease may lie. „ .( Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to affect the right of the Commonwealth or the Dominion to bring into force suspended or deferred duties, or to colled or ml rose dumping duties, or analogous special duties to meet abnormal trading conditions. Nothiiw in this Agreement shall be construed to affect the right of the Commonwealth to impose primage or other general duties, provided that sudi duties on goods imported from \c,v Zealand do not exceed the duties imposed <>e shnT.:r gi.eds imported from the l uted Kingdom. All goods enumerated in the Schedule lier-to shall '■<• liable to -m b primage duty, if env upon entry into the lb mini-ms. as shall for the time r l* \y. f:• rr<*. provided tlint such . duty do-'s not exceed the primage duty on duilar goods imported tram j Ihe United Kingdom. , 7. Goods imported into the Commonwealth. and thereafter transhipped 1,, tin- Dominion, which it they led imported direct from the ] country of origin to the .Dominion | would 'have been entitled to be enter-j e,| under the British Preferential I ar- , iff j,, tbe Dominion, shall, upon pro-j dnetion of a (crtilicate from the Customs' Department of the Cmnmon-we-ilth statin" the country ot origin „r '{| nod-; and such other information as is required, bo entitled to be entered under the British I’referen-j tin! TsirifV i'» tho Dominion. , R imported into tho Doinin-i ion! -ml thereafter transhipped to the Commonwealth. which if they had been iniprrtcd direct from the country of ori in to the Commonwealth would have been entitled to be enter- j ed under the British Preferential Tariff in tbe Commonwealth. snail, ip-on nr::duotiou of a certificate from tl u . Crnsto-Ps Department of the Dominion stating the country of origin of till- minds and sncli other mlormation a u is required, be entered under tin- British Preferential Tariff in the : Commonwealth. () The orovisions of the last two preceding clauses of this Agreement slinll operate from tbe first day ot M|, v one thousand nine hundred and twenty-two. notwithstanding that this Agri-nn-nt mnv not at that date have | icc u ratified by the Parliament id eitlu-i- country. , |i) No special rebate or bounty shall he granted by the Commonwealth or the Dominion in respect of the sugar contained in any goods exported from the Commonwealth or the Dominion, as the case may he. to the Dominion or the Commonwealth. SCHEDULE. Under the Schedule the principal item as affecting Westland is timber, all sizes to and from New Zealand and Australia is admitted free as a-ainst former duty Irom New Zealiind varying accordingly to size from 4s to 7s C>d per 100 ft. while from Australia it was 2 S per 100.

federal tariff. RECIPROCITY WITH DOMINION. lOT ,Hl,Uy \NII N. 7. CABLE ASSOCIATION. MELBOURNE, July 28. In the House of Representatives, Mr Rodgers submitted the agreement for reciprocal Customs duties between A.us-

tralia and New Zealand. He explained that the agreement provided. for special preferential rates on 130 items set out in the schedule, and for British preferential rates on all other lines. Mr Rodgers added that the balance of trade was overwhelmingly in favour „f Australia, which would reap a substantial benefit from the agieement.. Tne latter would he of great value to wine producers and citrus fruit growers but he regretted that dried fruit was not included.

FAV()ur ably RECEIVED

SPECIAL TO GUARDIAN. WELLINGTON, July 29. The general feeling here is that New Zealand has done remarkably in the readjustment of the customs tariffs between the Dominion and Commonwealth. There is little doubt that the tentative agreement will he conferred by Parliament, and operate to the advantage of both countries. Westland, while interested in the general scopo of the proposed tariff, is particularly concerned in several of its proposals. The Australian duty on rough sawn timber which has stood at from one shilling to seven shillings per hundred superficial feet, is to lie removed altogether, so that New Zealand timber will be admitted to tbe Commonwealth on more favourable terms than that of any other country. Tn return New Zealand is to remove tli n duty of two shillings per hundred feet hitherto imposed upon Australian timber of tlie same description. Numbers of smaller industries, which are hound to grow up in Westland, sooner or later, will ho encouraged by the revised tariff. Duties on bacon, hams, butter, cheese, sugar of milk, and other products, arc either largely reduced, or removed altogether. Tlve Commonwealth authorities appear to have approached the negotiations with ,-m earnest desire to develop reciprocal trade with the Dominion.