BRITISH TARIFFS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 418, 30 December 1932, Page 6

BRITISH TARIFFS

VERY FEW ARTICLES NOW LEFT ON FREE LIST ' THREE-FOURTHS TAXED (Published by arrangement with the Auckland Provincial Executive N.Z.F.U.), - "The September issue of the Bank of England's Statistical Summary contains, in addition to its usual features an analysis of the volume of trade affeeted by the duties imposed by the Import Duties Act of 1932," says the Economist. | "The trade returns of 1930 are I taken as the basis of calculation, and I it is shown that after the application 1 of that Act only £223.2 millions, or I 30.2 per cent., of goods remained on the free list out of total imports valued at £739.9 millions. "The value of goods previously subject to duty was £130 millions, while the Act imposed new duties on imports valued at £386.7 millions, or 52.3 per cent. of our total imports. "This figure of £386.7 millions of goods subjected to duty by the Act is analysed in relation to the levels of duties imposed. On imports to the value of ££249.1 millions the duty is 10 per cent. ad valorem; a 15 per I cent. duty applies to £18 millions, 20 per cent. to £94.9 millions (or 12.8 per cent. of our total imports), 25 per cent. to £5 millions, 30 per cent. to £2.7 millions, and 33 1-3 per cent. to £16.9 millions. That was the position before Ottawa. Huge Field Now Covered

"Under the Ottawa agreements it is proposed to impose duties on wheat, unwrought coppei; and linseed entering Britain from foreign eountries. This will have the effect of removing from the free list, according to our own calculations, goods to the value of £36.5 millions — on the basis of 1930 trade. This means that, if th'e Ottawa agreements are implemented, the free list will (on the basis ^f 1930 figures) be=reduced to less than £187 millions, out of a total of £739.9 millions. "Few people, perhaps, realise that so huge a field has already been covered by our 'experiment' in protection or how .substantially the Ottawa agreements will raise the ineidence of duties imposed by the Import Duties Act. On butter, cheese and egga, and condensed millc the duty is to be lifted from 10 per cent. to 15 per cent. or over on the basis of current prices. Duties on raw fruits, at present 10 per cent. are similarly to be raised to levels sranging from 15 to 31 p'er cent. The duty to which unwrought copper is to be subjected works out to-day at over 50 per cent."

Our "Luxuries" The latest League of Nations Union leaflet aptly replies tq critics of the League who protest that it is a costly luxury. Britain's expenditure on the League, it points out, is "less than a penny per head of the population, or about the cost of eightesn tanks." The total cost of the League is about half the price of a light cruiter, and Britain's share is now £182,C00 — increased from £140,000, owing to the fall in the value of the £ last year. Britain's war debt expenditure is over £300,000,000 a year, war pensions cost us £47,600,000 annually, and the annual armaments bill is £104,000,000.