The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-12-01
HARDING URGED TO
TAKE STRONG STAND
Asked to Recommend the Elimination
of American Valuation Plan From
House Tariff Bill.

| WASHINGTON, Nov. 30.-President
Harding has been urged to take a
strong stand in his address to the new
congress next week in behalf of pend
ing tariff legislation. Confidence was
evidenced among many congressional
leaders today, that the power of the
executive would be put behind the bill
which now reposes with the senate fl
nance committee
The suggestion was said to have
been made to Mr.. Harding that he
recommend, in the interest of speedy
disposition Of the measure, the elm
ination Of the American valuation plan
from the house bill and the writing of
a tariff law on the basis of the old
method of invoice prices.
He was understood to have been
urged to ask congress then to include
in the bill a provision empowering the
executive to apply the American val
uation basis of assessing duties where,
after surveys, it is shown that added
protection is needed.
Another suggestion reported to have
been given Mr.. Harding was that the
house bill provisions regarding anti
dumping be stricken out and a law
described as having teeth" be en-
acted supplementary to the tariff.
A division of opinion among repub-
.lican senators was said to exist as to
the merits and practicability of the
American valuation plan and it was
understood this situation had been out
lined to the executive.
Some republican members of the fl
nance committee declared today that
even with call by the president for
more speed, there could hardly be a
tariff law before March. One asserted
it would be the middle of May before
the bill finally becomes law
The suggestion that separate legis-
iation be enacted giving the executive
authority to impose the American val
uation basis in case where additional
protection was found necessary, was
said to embody plan for making Gus
tom duties variable to meet fluctua-
tions of the deprecated currency OF
exporting countries.
Those who advanced the plan hold
that the fixing of tariff duties at any
definite figure in the present disor-
ganized state of international cur
rencies would make it impossible to
adequately protect American industries
and labor from competition since the
low price of foreign money allows
goods to be purchased abroad in
American dollars at far below costs
in American markets, it was proposed
therefore that the president, presum-
ably through the tariff commission, be
given power to determine to what de-
gree the currency of a given country
has deprecated, the extent the fact
has made American producers unable
to compete with it's imported products,
and TO fix the import duty at a per-
centage which will to some degree
equalize these disadvantages. At the
same time similar goods from a coun-
try with stable currency, and undis-
torted production costs, would be al
lowed to come in at lower rates.
Carefully worked out estimates Of
the effect to be anticipated under OPP
erations of the plan have been sub
mitted to President Harding. The
American valuation system, also adj
vanced to meet the fluctuating cur
rency values at present encountered,
would be to fix the level of duty not
on cost price to the importers, but on
the value Of similar products, produced
in the Unitea(States on American mar
kets at the moment of importation.