Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1906-12-26
The GERMAN DEMANDS.
insolve the Abandonment CT tbs
American Tariff System.

Three important changes In our tar.
III system are demanded by the Ger
man government as the price OF non
discrimination against American ex.
ports. Any one of the three changes
would be heavy price TO pay for
fair treatment at the hands of Ger
many. The three combined would
practically amount 10 a permit TO Ger
man exporters to write the American
tariff to suit themselves.
First. IL is asked that no penalty
shall attach to differentiation unless
IL snail amount to ten per cent. To
grant this would. in many instances.
reduce our tariff at least five per
cent. An invoice OF 800 real value
could then be entered at $50 IL the
I'D valorem rate is so per cent. the
net reduction OF the tariff will be Ave
per cent In some lines such a reduc.
ton would give our market to- the
Germans. Upon $50. 900 900 OF imports
the ten per cent. latitude would work
decrease OF s7.5oO.O00 OF customs
revenue
AT present there is no legalized lati.
tude or margin for differentiation.
when importers make mistakes"
they pay for them in the shape OF du.
ties increased cent. per cent. with
the amount of differentiation. To
grant margin OF ten per cent. would
be equivalent to the Equalization OF
differentiation.
Second, the German government
asks that values made for export. and
not regular market values for domes.
tic consumption as under the pres
ent law, shall be accepted without
question by our tariff collecting Off
Gals. If this concession were to
be granted there would be no need of
the ten per cent. differentiation lati-
tude. Consigning goods to their own
agents In the United States, the Ger.
man exporters could then have a far
greater latitude for differentiation
than ten per cent The invoice selling
at the place OF production at tho cur
rent wholesale market prices OF 500
might be valued for expert purposes
at 500, or even as low as $25. Dis.
crepancies as great as these between
real market value and export value
have occurred heretofore. They would
be or constant recurrence. the rule
rather than the exception, III the lex
port value privileges were to be legal
lied. Az well repeal the Dingley tar
iff altogether, for then the domestic
producer would know where he stood
all the time. The demand for the
acceptance OF export value" is prepos-
ferrous. 1t is inconceivable that II
| should be for moment seriously con.
sidered. much less acceded TO.
Third, the granting of open hear
ings In all cases for the determination
of value and classification. The eff
feet of such a change would be to
| completely cut off the government
from obtaining expert information
Honest importers would not face
cross-eXamination by the attorneys of
undertaking importers that would
force them to disclose business Sc
crets. This fact is well known, and
1t is for the purpose of depriving the
government OF the testimony of hon
est importers that the demand for
open hearings Is pressed
What Germany wants and will try
to get in the shape of tariff privileges
for her competing exports is fairly
summarized in these three PROPOSE.
tons What she will get remains to
be seen. What she ought to get,
in the event OF enforcing the out
rageously unfair discrimination pro-
vided for in her maximum tariff sched.
ule. Is best expressed in the provi-
sions of the McCleary bill. Whether
the Kaisers government Will win It's
game of bluff and intimidation or
whether 1T will be met with counter
bluff, depends upon the backbone o.
the American congress.