TRADE WITH CANADA

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 210, 29 April 1932, Page 4

TRADE WITH CANADA

The terms of the trade agreement with Canada arranged by the Hon. W. Downie Stewart and published yesterday will be received with satisfaction by the majority of those directly interested, whether as exporters- or importers. The primary producers particularly will be gratified with the re-establishment of their opportunities in the Canadian market, so far as this can be achieved by the removal or lowering of barriers erected by that Dominion. Since the unfortunate breach in the previously happy trade relations between the two Dominions which followed the last general elections in Canada, the valuable trade in butter once enjoyed by New Zealand producers has been completely destroyed, while the Australian producers have continued, under an agreement made last year, to enjoy a preferential i position and huve in consequenee secured such trade as has been available. As Mr. Stewart pointed out, however, when announcing the terms of the new agreement, the Canadian butter market no longer offers the opportunities it formeriy did. Action taken by the United Stutes to protect its own producers has resulted " in the virtual destruction of Canada's valuable export trade in milk and cream to that country and has forced the Canadian dairyfarmer to turn to butter manufacture .on a larger scale than ever before. The position of the wheat market has also had some effect in the same direction. The result is that, at least temporarily, Canada has be'come practically self-supporting so f#r as butter is concerned and an immediate recovery of the volume of trade formeriy enjoyed by this Dominion is therefore, unfortunately, not to be expected. The new agreement, however, places New Zealand in a position equally as favourable as that enjoyed by Australia, the only other serious competitor for the trade, and will enable her producers to share in what trade is off:ering at present and to take advantage of any favourable circumstances which may arise in the future. Other primary products, and a numher of secondary products manufactured from New Zealand ruw materials, have also been granted tariff concessions which should help exporters to develop their trade with Canada. In return for these advantages New Zealand has naturally to make concessions in her turn and it is in this connection that Mr Stewart has particularly earned the congratulatons of his countrymen. Such concessions has have been made do not in all cases re-establish- the status quo, a notable.case beiug that of motor vehicles, "while in the case of timber the position has been met by an increase in the duty agaipst foreign imports. B.ut the agreement has another and perhaps greater value than any of the direct fruits of bargaining which it eontains. It will enable this Dominion and Canada to meet each other at Qttawa next July with all breaches healed and the policy of reeiprocity in trade formully establshed between them, and for this alone the .Ministers of the two Dominions who. carried through the negotiations have earned the thanks both of their own countries, and of the Empire as a whole. In the negotiation of trade agreements, bargaining is, unfortunately, not wholly avoidable. It is, however, highly desirable that this spirit should as far as possible b.e avoided at the coming Empire Conference and every agreemepf based on reeiprocity and co-operation betweemmembers of the British family which is in operation when the conference assembles will by so much help to establish and prej serve the sense of family unity which it is agreed must be the j foundution op which the new Empire must be built.