The Cordova daily times., 1921-05-20
SOUTH LOOKS CLOSE AT OUR
 TARIFF LAWS
BY COL. WINFIELD JONES

United States is interested in the temporary and permanent tariff bills, and particularly in the permanent tariff bill which is expected to be en- acted into law about the middle of next August.
 Argentina exports vast quantities of wheat, hides, meat and cattle by produts to the United States. Brazil supplies practically all our coffee. Central America is our great foreign l fruit market.
 Argentina does not want a high American tariff on hides, cattle or wheat. The American markets for these products are now the best that l Argentina has because Europe is not yet able to take the surplus of Ar gentina because Europe has not re- covered from the the effects of | the World war and is unable to pay 1 for a heavy volume of imports of these products. Besides, the Argen- tinos can sell better in the United States than they can in Europe. On the other hand our own cattle and wheat growers are pushing congress l for high tariff on cattle and wheat They will probably have their way in regard to these schedules Argen- l tina takes vast quantities of manufac- tured goods from the United States. The tariffs on these goods are now not high at Argentina ports. But if our tariff bills provide stiff protec- tion against, Argentina agricultural products Argentina will be forced to | increase her tariff rates on American manufactured products, in order to keep up her trade balances, and also as a retaliation against the American 1 tariffs.
 American meat packers are heavily interested in the Argentine cattle in- l dustry and of course under such cir cumstances will not want tariff that will tend to bar out free importations of Argentina cattle and hides. The American wheat growers, how competition of Argentina wheat, and our agricultural interests probably will be able to. put through a protec- tive schedule for wheat in the new tariff bills.
 Similarly Brazil will strenuously object to what she may consider a too high schedule on coffee imports into the United States. Brazil, like Argentina, is one of our best markets
 for manufactured products. That country, too, may retaliate with a higher tariff against American pro- ducts if congress puts heavy i'm duty on Brazilian coffee
 The Central American countries that ship fruits to the United States
 will also protest against a tariff
 which they may consider too high on fruits, particularly bananas They,
 too, may increase their tariffs on American manufactured imports.
 The tariff, in short, is weapon that cuts both way. It will have to
 be constructed by congress so that none of the pan-American nations
 take offense, and at the same time so drafted that American producers ure of protection against foreign com
 petition. It is one of the most diffi- cult problems this congress will have
 to solve
 Government business experts and
 many members of congress are com ing to believe more and more that
 our export trade to pan-America is
 our best foreign market, especially
 in the future
 Most of the pan-American markets lie closer to our shores than the Flu lropean or Asiatic markets, and it is only natural that our foreign con-
 merce should be developed quicker
 and become of greater volume on
 our own western hemisphere. rather
 than in Europe or Asia. This is par,
 ticularly so as the Panama canal
 now gives us easy access to the west
 coast of South America With free
 tolls through this waterway for American ships American exporters
 will have an immense advantage over
 their European rivals for the for.
 eign trade of this part of the world.
 Then, too, the pan-American na.
 tions, living under the protection of
 the Monroe doctrine, should prefer to do their business with the nation
 that protects their republican form of government, rather than with Euro pean and Asiatic nations that would be only too glad to make territorial aggressions against them were it not e, Dq