FOREIGN TIMBER

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 729, 31 July 1929, Page 8

FOREIGN TIMBER

MENACE OF DUMPING

QUESTION IN HOUSE (THE SVN’S Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, Tuesday. The grave danger to the New Zealand timber industry, already i:a a bad position, from dumping was teferred to by Mr. J. O’Brien (WestlanJ) in a question without notice to the Minister of Industries and Commerce, the Hon. J. G. Cobbe, in the House of Representatives today. Mr. O'Brien said that the dumping of foreign timber constituted i. grave danger to the industry, and the: danger was increased by the fact that outside Governments subsidised their timber trades. The United States subsidised a monthly mail service to New Zealand on condition that the mail vessels had a timber capacity of 4,000,000 feet, which was the average output for New Zealand. A similar state of affairs obtained with Canadian vessels trading to Australia and New Zealand. He asked the Government to take steps to prevent this and if necessary to place a dumping duty on such timber. Replying, the Minister said that the question was really one for the Minister of Customs, but seeing that he was away, Mr. Cobbe would answer the question. According to information in the possession of the Government, there was at present no evidence that timber coming into New Zealand from the United States was imported under conditions that would warrant the imposition of a dumping duty. No investigation had been made of the conditions under which timber in the future would be imported from Canada. The question was being carefully watched, aud if action were necessary it would be taken.