The New York herald., 1921-10-31
American Valuation Duties.

opposed TO the American Valuation
plan are quite right to protest against
Representative FoRDNEY's impeach-
ment Of their purpose and his charac-
terization of their attitude as ur-
American. His structures are irrele-
want to the question Of the economic
principles involved and are alto
gether uncalled for.
1t is no more un-American to deal
in foreign goods that are desired and
required by American consumers than
it is to deal in domestic goods that
are desired and required by Ameri-
can consumers. Imports properly
regulated can be and are stimulative
of our home productivity, because
foreign buying Of our goods cannot
go on unless there is American buy
ing of foreign goods to enable the
foreign buyers of our goods to pay
for them in whole or in part with
their goods.
On the other hand, the principles
of the American valuation plan are
either misapprehended or misrepre-
sented by some of its opponents. What
the plan mainly proposes, for exam
pie. is plain extension of tariff
duty method already in practice here
and pretty much everywhere in the
world.
There are now, of course, specific
duties as well as ad vaIorem duties.
A suit Of underwear imported from
England under the present ad va
lorem system of percentage on the
appraisement of the article in the
country where 1t is produced may
compel the English goods to pay
twice as much duty in dollars and
cents as a similar suit of underwear
imported from Germany pays on the
appraisement of the German article
in it's country. But specific duty
of so cents pair on pair of gloves
of a given standard makes every i'm
ported pair of such gloves pay ex-
actly the same duty. whether it comes
into this country from England, Ger
many, Japan or Timbuctoo.
Similarly the American valuation
plan would make like articles fm-
ported into this country and subject
to a percentage duty pay exactly the
same amount, no matter from what
country they came and no matter
what they are worth there.
There would be, however, this diff
ference of operation, namely-the
specific duty pure and simple is rigid
as to equality of duty paid by every
body and also rigid as to its money
amount OF the tax, whether 1t is too
much or too little, measured against
our domestic cost, value or price. The
American valuation plan, on the con-
trary, while rigid as to equality Of
duty paid by everybody like the spe-
cific duty, also would be flexible as
to the money amount Of the tax. This
money amount would go up il the
domestic article went up here at
home; it would go down If the do
mestic article went down here at
home.
One Of the arguments offered
against the plan relates to this very
fiexibility. It is objected that an i'm
porter buying an article in Germany,
say, could have no idea of what duty
he would have to pay two or three
months later upon the arrival of the
article. But, say the trainers of the
American valuation plan, what Of
that? Suppose in the three months
intervening between the purchase of
the goods in Germany and their
arrival here the American valuation
did go up, causing the duty actually
paid by the importer to be more than
the importer had expected it would
be; nevertheless the same thing
would apply to every other like artl-
Gle coming in at the same time. The
absolute equality of duty paid would
be maintained. The importer would
be at no disadvantage as compared
with any other importer whose goods
came in at the same time, no matter
when any such other importer had
bought his goods abroad.
The protesting importer replies
that il he sold his goods to an Amer
lean merchant at fixed price ninety
days before delivery, expecting to pay
given amount of duty, he would
suffer loss IL he we're compelled,
upon arrival Of the goods, to pay a
larger amount of duty. The advo-
Gates OF the American plan rejoin
that guarding against such a loss is
mere detail of business routine
The goods could be sold by the i'm
porter to the merchant at a set price
plus the duty upon arrival. The
merchant would be safeguarded be-
cause the amount of duty could go
up only il the American valuation
went up, leaving the relative position
Of all goods, American, English, Ger
man, Japanese, or whatever they
might be, the same as before.
In auv event tho nrincfuIe and the