New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-12-13
GOOD FOR BOTH N4TIONS
Caba fieceiueS Concessions and
Grants Preferential Rates.
LAY TFLBIRAPH To THE TRIRrNu

RT TELEGRAPH THE TETEUN11
WashinEton Dec 12--Cuba undertakes 10 es
.sblsh tariff of maximum and minimum
schedules and will enter into a formal treaty
-srh the United States whereby. in exchange for
sreduction of 20 PEI cent from the Dinsiey rates
on all imports into the United States from
cuba all imports into Cuba from the Untee
States are pay only the minimum Cuban
rates while imports from all other countries viii
nav the maximum rates.
This in brief is what is provided for IN the
document which has been drawn up in Havana,
and which was signed last night by General
Tasker II. Bliss the special plenipotentiary of
the United States and the Cuban Secretary
While the text of this agreement has not yet been
received at the State Department, the iustr0c-
.ions under which General Bliss was acting are
,o clear that the officials have no doubt
-be character of the document which he has
signed The agreement, in every essential par
1icUIar is exactly that which was exclusively
outlined in The Tribune of November Ia, few
days after the departure of General Bliss Tor
Havana The objections which the Cubans
urged 10 granting tariff concessions to the
United states, the ground that their reVe-
nues could not stand any reductions OF taxation,
haze been overcome by the adoption of plan
whereby the present tariff is taken as the OASIS
for the minimum rates, while the maximum
result will be that on such proportion of Cuban
,rnnorts as come from the United States the
caints will he the same as under the present
tariff while on the imports which come from
other countries the receipts win be greater thus
Increasing the Cuban revenues, instead OF difnln-
ishins them In some few cases, Where lt Is
msnffestly to the interests of the Cnban con-
SINNERS to have articles admitted at lower rates
of duty, the minimum rates are reduced below
.1non
is believed that Increased importations due to
the cheapening of the goods will more than
ma ke up for reduction of duties. and the rev.
enues viii not suffer.
CUBA TREATED GENEROUSLY
AS uas pointed out in The Tribune on No
vember Ia the agreement which has been en-
tered into is most generous to Cuba Inc
Cubans obtain market for all the surplus
products of their island without surrehderihs
: cent Of revenue while the United States SUI
renders large amount Of revenue and is com
pensated only by the opportunity TO send goods
into f,uha AT lower rates than will be charged
on goods Of The same character from "ther
countries This will benefit American exporters
IN two ways The concessions In rates VIII nat
uralIy give them a much larger proportion OF
the Cuban trade in articles produced IN the
United States the basis of the present trace
in such articles but the imports of many ar1l-
cles Of American production which can be used
as substitutes for articles Of foreign production
will be greatly increased. The cotton and linen
schedules afford an illustration of this AT
present the Cutans import more cotton goods
from Europe than from the United States. The
diherential which the minimum tariff will give
the United States OF cotton varies from ID Id
10 50 per cent and will naturally divert most
OF the cotton trade Of the island TO this country.
at present European linens are imported INTO
the island. The maximum itself VIII increase
the duties on linen goods from countries other
than the United States from 30 to 100 per cent
The effect ia expected TO be that cottons from
the United States will largely supplant Euro
pean linens in the Cuban market.
General Bliss in his cable dispatch to Secre-
tary Hay, sent from Havana at 10:4S O'Clock
last night, simply said signed. without giving
any clew the character of the document
While it is regarded possible that he may
have concluded and signed dehnitive treaty,
ready for submission by the President to the
Senate for ratification, for his credentials
empowered him do so. ii is strongly the off,
cisl impression here that he referred merely to
the execution Of the protocol which eSta bllsheS
the new diTerential tariff rates. and which is
20 serve as the basis for the defnitive treaty,
the latter being brief paper. simply providing
that the United States grants 20 per cent on
the existing tariff in return for the minimum
is an extended and comprehensive statement.
setting forth In detail all the tariff schedules
and the differentiaI rates