The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-04-28
Commerce Between
Canada and Britain

r. HE ANNOUNCEMENT of a further increase
IN the Canadian preferential tariff in favor
- of the United kingdom as against the
Critcd States and other parts OF the world
gives especially interest to official figures OF
the imports of Canada from the United Kingdom
and the United States, respectively, during a
term of y,ars, which have just been issued by
the Canadian government and received by the
treasury bureau of statistics. The Canadian
tarif, II viii be remembered. was in 1877 SO ad.
lusted that the duty of articles entering Can
ada from the United Kingdom was made, be-
ginning with April, 1897, 1919 per cent. less
than the rates from other parts Of the world, On
July !, $685. this reduction in duty in favor OF
the United Kingdom was increased TO . per
cent. and now it is announced that on July |,
liOO the reduction will be increased to 33 1-3
per cent, or in other words that articles i'm.
ported from the United Kingdom and certain of
her colonies will only be required to pay two.
thirds of the rates on articles imported from the
United States and from other parts OF the world.
Up TO this time the preferential rates made in
favor Of imports from the United Kingdom have
rot apparently had the effect of materially in.
creasing imports from that country or of at all
reducing these from the other countries advcrSt-
ly affected by this reduction. The Canadian
othcial figures show that the imports from the
United Kingdom in the fiscal year 1896. the last
year under the rate which was uniform for all
parts of the world, were 31.l Ier cent. Of the
total inrCrtGtons, while these from the tinted
States formed SOS per cent. of the total impor-
tations In 1899, under the full effect of the
25 per cent. reduction IN favor of the United
Kingdom, imports from that country formed only
24.S per cent OF the total imports of Canada.
while those from the United States formed 500
per cent, the proportion Of the total which was
taken from the United Kingdom having thus ma.
| tcrally fallen under the rev preferential tariff,
while the pIopt rton taken from the nicd
states had materially increased. The London
Economist of March 81, 1900 commenting upon
this subject says: SIN the impcItS Cnto Can
ada) from this country U'nitcd Kingdom) there
was last year an increase, as compared with 1896,
of sSl6,0O0, or 12l2 per cent. whereas in the
imports from the United States the increase
| amounted to e6csj,OC0. or close upon G4H per
cent. Thus, notwithstanding the preferential
tariff, the increase in imports from this country
| Omitted kingdom) has been very much less than
| in the imports from the United States. II is
necessary, however, in considering these figures
| TO remember that the imports (int0 Canada)
| from the United States consist largely of raw
| materials for manufacture, which enter free Of
| duty These are, oI course, unaffected by the
preferential tariff, and they naturally tend to
| grow with tnc industrial progress of the Domin-
| ION. And even as regards manufactured articles,
the geographical proximity of the states and the
| fact that the American manufacturers are in
| touch with the requirements and predictions
| OF the Canadians operate as an offset to the
| preferential tariff and have hitherto prevented
| it from operating much to the advantage Of
| the country as was expected Whether the still
| more favored treatment it canada has decided
| to accord us Omitted kinglom) will alter the
state Of things materially remains to be seen,
but past experience warns rs not to be too san.
| gunc en- our antCipations."