The National tribune., 1909-10-21
INTERNATIONAL TARIFF.
A Struggle With the State De-
partment as the Scene.

l. There's q great tariff dicker ahead.
It seems Just now to promise propor-
Itions of international interest. Perhaps
it will be little less than secondary to
the tariff building of the last session OF
lCongress
Already ambassadors are sailing from
European shores. Their trunks are
crammed with tariff data. They are
heading straight for Washington. In
two or three weeks they will be throng-
ling the State Department and making
Representations thru official channels.
If they can go about their errands with
lsufficient informality, by permission of
the State Department, these Embassa-
dors, coming hot-footed from European
tCapitals. may be visiting the upper
chamber in the Treasury Department,
where the Tariff Commission is holding
meetings and conducting iHvestigat' 'ons.
It is all concerning the maximum
tariff, which is 25 per cent advalorem
higher than the minimum tariff now in
force. The trouble promises to be chief
lily with France and Germany. Unless
matters mend it is not unlikely that
both those countries will have to pay
1.-The extra 25 per cent advalorem after
March 10 next. The authorities at Par s
and Berlin are tangled up in treaties
| from which they cannot easily extricate
themselves. In one way or another
they have been giving the United States
| the worst of It in tariffs In some in
stances our products going into France
or Germany have been assessed higher
rates of duty than similar products of
other countries. Now the time has come
when France and Germany must quit
| or pay the piper.
| ambassador J. J. Jusserand is now on
the bounding billows. making for Wash
| ington, where he wants to take up the
negotiations between France and the
| United States, so as to prevent a tariff
| war in March. The French officials
have been exceedingly obdurate in tar
Iiff matters during the last three or four
years. They yielded grudgingly to us;
| in fact. showed us less tariff consdera-
ton than any other European country
that has q high tariff. But the French
officials have been thinking it over since
| the tariff law was enacted. Then Sen
ator Aldrich, who has been in France,
| has given the officials some informal
talks about the purpose of the maxi
mum tariff. The French are revising
| their tariff. and have already decided
that they can make limited concessions
| to the United States. Before the March
winds blow they will find that they want
to give the United States further con-
cessions. The language of the Aldrich-
Payne law is very positive, and il on
March o the President, thru his Tariff
/
the Treasury Department, finds that
France is not giving the United States
las favorable tariff rates as any other
country is receiving, the maximum goes
| into operation, and that is all there is
| to- IT, Then there would in all likeli-
hood, he. a tariff war. The French would
| give US their maximum. The pessim-
| lists are. even now predicting that that is
what Will eventually happen.
Germany, too, is taking sharp notice.
| Count j. II. Won XernstOrff, the new
| Embassador Extraordinary and Minis
ter Plenipotentiary, has been brushing
tup on tariff during the Summer. He
went early across the water TO Berlin,
and there he has been in conference
with. the tariff authorities of the realm.
| Germany has been more considerate
than France of the United States, but
ever since the Germans put a maximum
and minimum into operation they have
i been negotiating treaties by which 9TH
fer countries were given more favors
than the United States received. The
tGermans have also been adroit in en-
forcing sanitary and other regulations
against our meat products, VIII ch COM
prise big portion of American exports
into Germany.
Tho italian ambassador and the Aus
trian Enbassador will be stepping lively
10. the, State Department soon, likewise
on tariff errands, but the prospective
troubles will be less serious with Italy
and Austria because the trade of the
| United States with those countries is
| comparatively small ambassador Jas.
Bryce, representing King Edward at
! Washington. might be utterly without
worries about the new maximum, but
| for the fact that Canada levies certain
duties and has treaties with European
| Nations affecting the duties assessed
upon imports. Great Britain assesses
no tariffs upon our imports or upon
those of any other Nation, and there
fore gives us as favorable terms as any
other Nation receives But the tangIe
with Canada will develop anxious nego-
tiations. which must be conducted thru
the British ambassador
Off to the Far East there has been no
agitation yet about the maximum
| Oriental countries have few tariff trea-
ities. Little difficulty is anticipated ar
| ranging matters so that Japan and
China and Australia and India shall
have our minimum tariff rates.
4 The Embassadorial activities regard
ing tariffs are new to Washington. Di-
| lplomacy here has been engaged hereto
fore in other business. 1t was not many
| years ago that ambassador al noses
went high into the air at suggestions
about commerce. That was for ConsuIs
and Consuls-General to look after But
the keen rivalry between Nations for
commercial advantages and opportuni-
/ ties have changed the diplomatic situa-
/ ton. Between now and next March
the ehiefest thoughts of several Embas-
sadors VIII be to bring about a status
which will avoid tariff wars BIoodIess
as such clashes are. they have proven
very costly and very exhausting.
|
| Tho Doth n "