THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1947. TARIFF CONCESSIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26628, 26 November 1947, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1947. TARIFF CONCESSIONS

Before the recent conference at Geneva had progressed very far, the opinion was expressed in these columns that no very revolutionary decisions were likely to emerge from the prolonged, bilateral bickerings: the publication of that portion of the Trade and Tariffs Agreement which concerns New Zealand suggests that the opinion requires no revision. It is difficult to obtain from the announcement by the Minister of Industries and Commerce a clear indication of what the full import of the various concessions will be, but the limited nature of the compacts and the escape clauses with which they are hedged provoke the conclusion that the agreement does little more than record a grudging admission that the freer movement of world trade must be encouraged if world recovery is to be hastened. The principle of Imperial preference is retained, but is given some elasticity that may be of assistance in the disposal of surpluses in the future. The United Kingdom’s import quotas of New Zealand meat are to be replaced with a system of preferential tariffs, but since'the United Kingdom must be the market for practically all New Zealand exports of primary produce for some years to cpme the marketing position is likely to remain unchanged. In view of the close bargaining at Geneva between the delegates of the United "States and the countries of the Commonwealth, the agreement with the United States is of‘particular interest. The tariff concessions that New Zealand has offered do not appear to be extensive, although the reduction of duty on American motor cars will probably be welcomed by American sellers and domestic buyers alike. America in return has offered several important concessions on imports of New Zealand primary produce. The reduction of 50 per cent, in the tariffs on meat and butter opens up the prospect of developing a limited market for these items in the United States when Great Bi'itain no longer requires every pound of food we can send her. New Zealand butter, in particular, would be assured of a ready sale if it could be placed on the United States market at a competitive price. The growing demand in America for quality wools is reflected in the reduction by 81 cents a pound of the duty on wools having a higher spinning count than 44. Before the war the United States imported some millions of pounds yearly of carpet wool (36/40), but the heavy tariff imposed on apparel wools, at the request of the American domestic industry, practically closed the door on imports of all but the finest qualities. Since more than 80 per cent, of the New Zealand clip consists of crossbred wool with a count of 50 or under, the extent to which advantage can be taken of the American concession must remain problematical, but it would appear that New Zealand«crossbred producers will reap some benefit from the extra buying that will be stimulated by the tariff reduction. The concession that appears to offer most scope for immediate exploitation is the reduction in the duty on seeds. Growers of white clover seed who were caught unprepared by the recent United Kingdom embargo might - find a worthwhile market in the. United States, in spite of Canadian competition, and the halving of the duty on Chewing’s fescue holds the promise that the once profitable trade that was carried on in this line might be restored.