Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-29
Official Statement Regarding the Ar
genuine Treaty.
CONCESSIONS GIVEN and RECEIVED
Domestic Interests in No Way
Menaced.
SMALL AMOUNT AFFECTED

The following official statement of facts
respecting the Argentine convention. which
is now pending before Congress, is given
out for public information, and to correct
misapprehensions in respect to the effect
of the treaty on the wool interest:
The Argentine tariff system involves not
| only fixed and high rate of duties i'm
ports, but also provides for an aforo or val
uatiOn, which is to be fixed from time to
| time by executive authority. BY this sys-
TEN duties are often effectually increased
without any new legislation, and at the
will of executive officers.
THE object of the United States was
therefore to obtain reductions of the tariff
on our exports as far as possible and to
reduce the aforo, or else to establish i
valuation beyond which they could not go
as the basis for assessing duties.
Concessions by Argentina.
THE convention, for example, not only
secures to the United States exporters a
reduction of duty on Oregon pine lumber,
and southern lumber, in fact, all kinds of
undressed lumbed, but fixes the aforo, and
on oregon and yellow pine reduces it over
40 per cent. The duty on cottonseed oil is
reduced about 30 per cent. On bacon and
many food products it is reduced by about
30 per cent. ON paraffine wax largely in
demand in Argentina the charges were
prOhibitive The duty is now reduced 30
per cent and the aforo by about 6212 per
cent. On canned salmon and other canned
goods the reduction of duty is 30 per cent
ana the aforo is reduced by varying per-
centages from 30 per cent to 60 per cent.
On wind mills Qargely used) there is a re-
duction of duty of 80 per cent and of aforo
60 per cent
ION dried or eVaporated fruits (apples,
etc) the duty is reduced 80 per cent. On
lnckD1 white colOrpi the afOrO
is reduced 23 ID per cent. On sail Irvine
and cotton rope the duty is reduced 20
per cent and the aforo 33 ID per cent
Concessions Granted on Wool.
ION the other hand. the Argentine gov
eminent demandd reciprocal concessions on
the few articles she sends TO this market.
Among these was wool, and American wool
growers have expressed fears that this
would prove injurious to the domestic in
terest. The total import of wool in the
United States for 1899 from all countries
was as 10000 pounds. OF this from Argen-
tine came only 1857 600 pounds, which is
very small portion of our aggregate i'm
portatfon. 1t appears that our wooden fac
tories require, Notwithstanding high duties,
n certain amount of foreign wool to sup
plement the domestic product. There is
proposal for any reduction of wool duties
in favor of any other foreign country. 1t
is evident that the proposed reduction for
Argentine woods alone can have no effect
on our market prices. The mg jority of the
wool is of the coarsest class tfor carpets.
etc., which is not at all, or but little, sup
piled by this country. If other countries
imposed the same high duties with our
selves upon raw woods imported for man
ufacture this reduction of duty would turn
the tide of wool supply to the United
States. But other nations have adopted the
policy of free admission of wool. Conse-
quently the Argentine wool seeks the free
European markets-France Germany. Bel
gium. Great Rrif1ip Tta1V OF will
continue to do so.
Mostly Goes to EuroDe.
THE statistics for eleven months of 1895
80 show that during that period the Argen-
tine exported 461, 1S1 bales of wool OF
this over 10000 bales went to the free ports
of Europe. In addition to the chance of
duties in The wool manufacturing countries
of Europe, Argentine woods tend thfther be-
cause freightS are cheaper there than to
the United States by about 80 per cent.
Early in November, 1899, the price of I'M
washed wool (class one) in London was
liz pence, or, say, % cents, per pound.
No Danger to Wool Interests.
I'm New York, same date, with duty
added. it MAS % cents. That is to say, the
price of class one Argentine wool afioat in
London was % cents, against IA cents afioat
in New York, which shows abundant rea-
son for the wool seeking the British mar
ket rather than the American 1t also in
dicates how little danger there is of the
small reduction made by this treaty in our
protective duty woods producing either
any reduction in prices in our market or
any increase over present importations 1t
Is estimated at the Treasury Department
that 80 per cent of whole importation
is of tee course or Cordoba WOOL which
We do not produce to any extent
This concession on Argentine wool was
made not because Of it's effect upon our
amount of Importation, for that will be
nothing against the free markets of Eu-
rope. but because it was one of the three
articles Of Argentine export on which re-
ciprocal reductions could be made, and one
without which that republic would not con-