§ Mr. GILBERT(on Monday, 30th April) asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the amount of preferential tariff given by the Dominion of Australia on British-manufactured goods imported into that Dominion; whether any special legislation has been passed in Australia dealing with the low prices on foreign imports owing to depreciated exchanges; and can he make a statement as to whether the same benefits British goods?
§ Sir P. LLOYD-GREAMEfurnished the following particulars:
The following Memorandum has been prepared by the Board of Trade:—
In introducing the present Australian Customs Tariffs, which came into operation on 25th March, 1920, the Commonwealth Minister of Trade and Customs summarised the degree of preference accorded under the British Preferential Tariff of the Australian Customs Tariff as follows:
2757W
Per cent. No. of Items. Preference of 5 … … 24 Preference of 10 … … 367 Preference of 12½ … … 24 Preference of 15 … … 136 Preference of 20 … … 32 Items … … 583 The Tariff was modified during its discussion by the House of Representatives, but in its final form, as assented to on 16th December, 1921, the above figures are not substantially affected
It will thus be seen that the measure of preference accorded by the present Tariff to goods produced or manufactured in the United Kingdom is, in a majority of items, 10 per cent. ad valorem, although in a considerable proportion of the Tariff items it reaches 15 per cent. ad valorem. This, however, represents the difference between the rates provided for under the British Preferential Tariff and the General Tariff. There is now for the first time in the Australian Tariff an Intermediate Tariff, on which the rates of duty fall, generally, midway between the British Preferential Tariff and the General Tariff. The Intermediate Tariff has not yet been applied to the products of any country, but its application to certain classes of goods would reduce the British Preference approximately by one-half. The Intermediate Tariff can only be applied, either in whole or in part, as the result of reciprocal trade agreements concluded with other countries and ratified by the Commonwealth Parliament.
Provision has been made by the Commonwealth Parliament for preventing any diminution of the protection for local industries afforded by the Customs Tariff, especially with respect to goods imported from countries with depreciated currencies. The preference accorded in Australia to goods produced or manufactured in the United Kingdom has been similarly protected. The Act embodying these measures is the Customs Tariff (Industries Preservation) Act, 1921 (No. 28 of 1921) assented to on 16th December, 1921, as subsequently amended.
The Act provides for the imposition of the following duties, namely, "dumping" duty, "dumping below cost" duty, "dumping consignment" duty, "dumping exchange" duty (on goods coming from countries with depreciated currencies), "dumping freight" duty, "dumping preference" duty (for the protection of preference accorded goods produced in the United Kingdom), and "dumped materials" duty.
An Amendment has been made of the above-mentioned Act by Act No. 20 of 1922, which has the effect of increasing 2758W the Customs duties on certain goods coming from countries with depreciated currencies. The amending Act provides, inter alia, that the duties levied under the "dumping exchange clause" and the "dumping preference clause" (see above) shall be added to the value of the imported goods in assessing them for the ordinary Customs duty.
A further safeguard has been established by a recent amendment of the Customs Act. The Customs Act, 1922 (No. 19 of 1922) assented to on 9th October, 1922, provides that Customs duty may now be based either on the domestic value of the goods or the price f.o.b paid by the Australian importer, whichever may be the higher.
Particulars of this legislation will be found in the "Board of Trade Journal" for the 16th February, 1922 (pp. 189–191), the 19th October, 1922 (p. 444), the 7th December, 1922 (pp. 658–9).
§ Mr. GILBERTalso asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department whether the Dominion of New Zealand gives any preference on import duties on British manufactured goods imported into that Dominion; and if any other facilities are given to British manufacturers for trading in New Zealand?
§ Sir P. LLOYD-GREAMEfurnished the following particulars:
The following memorandum has been prepared by the Board of Trade:
The Customs Tariff now in operation in New Zealand was passed by the Legislative Council on the 13th December, 1921. Preference is accorded, as in previous Tariffs, to goods the growth, produce, or manufacture of any part of the Empire.
The present Tariff grants preferential rates of duty to British goods in 427 items out of the total number of 644 Tariff items. In the majority of items under which preference is accorded, it ranges from 10 per cent. ad valorem to 20 per cent. ad valorem.
An Intermediate Tariff is provided for in the present Tariff, but it has not yet been applied to the goods of any country. The application of the Intermediate Tariff, in whole or in part, would pro tanto reduce the preference now accorded to British goods.
2759WProvision is made under Section 13 of the Customs Amendment Act, 1921, for the imposition of a special duty on goods imported from countries with depreciated currencies. This duty is charged on goods of a kind of which the import into New Zealand is deemed by the Minister prejudicially or injuriously to affect an industry established in New Zealand or in some other part of the British Dominions. The duty varies with the degree of the depreciation of the currency of the country concerned at the date of exportation of the goods. Imports from Denmark, Greece, Norway, Spain and Italy are exempted from such special duty by an Order in Council of the 24th October, 1922.
For the goods to which the special duty has been applied, reference may be made to the "Board of Trade Journal" for the 27th April, 1922 (p. 458), the 1st June, 1922 (p. 618) and the 8th February, 1923 (p. 176).
Under the Customs Amendment Act, 1922 (No. 14 of 1922) provision is made for the imposition of a special duty in the case of goods coming from a country not forming part of the British Dominions when, in the opinion of the Minister of Customs, the importation of such goods would be likely to affect prejudicially an industry established in New Zealand or elsewhere in the British Dominions.
§ Mr. GILBERTfurther asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what preference is given by the Dominion of Canada on import duties on British goods sent into that Dominion; if any other special facilities are given to British manufacturers; and whether any preference is given by Canada to imports from the United States, and, if so, to what extent?
§ Sir P. LLOYD-GREAMEfurnished the following particulars:
The following memorandum has been prepared by the Board of Trade:
Preferential tariff rates are accorded in Canada to certain classes of goods the 2760W produce or manufacture of any part of the Empire, except Australia, Newfoundland, Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus and Hong Kong. The amount of the preference varies in the different tariff items and, speaking generally, amounts to a reduction of one-third of the duty imposed under the "General" Tariff. The preference (i.e., the difference between the "General" duty and the "Preferential" duty) on many important classes of British goods amounts to 10 per cent. ad valorem.
The preference accorded to British goods has in some cases been reduced owing to the operation of the Intermediate Tariff which has been applied to various products and manufactures of certain countries in Europe and to similar products coming from other foreign countries which are entitled to most-favoured-nation treatment in Tariff matters in Canada. The Intermediate Tariff is at present operative only as regards a comparatively small number of goods, but on the ratification of the Franco-Canadian Convention the operation of the Intermediate Tariff will be considerably extended and the British preference on many classes of goods substantially reduced.
The United States of America are not entitled to most-favoured-nation Tariff treatment in Canada, and products of the United States are assessed for duty under the Canadian "General" Tariff.
An Act assented to on 27th June, 1922, provides that in the case of importations of goods the manufacture or produce of a foreign country, the currency of which is substantially depreciated, the value for Customs duty shall not be lees than would be placed on similar goods manufactured or produced in the United Kingdom, if such similar goods are made or produced there. This provision applies at present to goods the manufacture or produce of Germany, Austria, Hungary, Jugo-Slavia and Czechoslovakia.