, 1922-06-20
To Offset Cheap Moneu

EORE1GN TARIFFS division of the department
= OF commerce reports that the number of paper
marks required for the payment of import duties
in Germany has been increased to sixty times the
gold rate specified in the German customs tariff
Import duties into Germany are payable in paper
marks ana with the depreciation of German chr
rency, the German government has been compelled
to advance the amount of duty in order to com.
pensate for the depreciation of the currency in
which the duty is paid.
The first advance made it necessary to nav 10
times the schedule rates in order to offset the de.
probation in German currency. This was soon
raised to 20 times. On November %, 1921, the du-
ties were raised to 40 times the rate; on March /
IT,. the duties were raised to 45 times the rates
contained in the German customs tariff schedule;
and row comes the latest announcement that it is
necessary to increase the duties to GO times the rate
specified. Thus does Germany recognize the fact
that the more deprecated the currency in which du.
ties are PAID, the higher must be the rate in order
to obtain an equivalent measure of protection or an
equivalent revenue income.
1t is exactly this principle which the present con.
gress recognized in writing the tariff bill now pend.
ing in the United States senate. Foreign goods
coming into this country are valued in terms of
their home currency. If their home currency has de-
preclated, their valuation, as expressed in invoices
filed with American customhouses, has deprecated.
In other words, under our present system the for.
eigner fixes the valuation of the imported article
The United States government fixes the tariff rate
that is to be levied upon this imported article. If
the foreigners valuation of his goods depreciatcs
because of a debased currency, it becomes the
duty of the American government to increase the
tariff rate sufficient to offset the lower valuation
Otherwise the amount of tariff collected is auto.
m%atically decreased without any change in our
tariff rates. This decrease of tariff collected means
a loss of revenue. 1t also means a loss of protec-
tion to home industries. 1t is to overcome these
lower valuations of goods made in foreign conn.
tries having deprecated currencies that the Re-
publicans in writing the pending tariff bill in
creased rates.
An analysis of the tariffs written by other com.
tries since the armistice shows that a great many
Of them have adopted the practice of raising rates
in order to maintain the same level of protection
and the same amount of revenue they enioyed in
pre-war days when international exchange was nor.
NAL. These advances in rates have been from 30
to 300 times the prewar rates. an increase which
is far greater than any proposed by the tariff bill
pending before the United States congress.
Some nations, in order to offset the lower vain.
alton of goods imported from countries having de.
preciated currencies, have provided what is known
as a surta1. This tax is imposed in addition to
the regular tariff and is imposed on goods coming
from a country with a deprecated currency.
The entire world, recognizes the necessity of off.
setting depreciatedSc currency in countries which are
so afflicted. The countries having the deprecated
currency admit the necessity of overcoming theic
depreciation by raising the duties which must be
paid to their governments on imports. The coun-
which do not have such deprecated currency
recognize the necessity of protecting themselves
from the manufactured products of countries hay.
ing such deprecated currency by raising the tariff
on goods imported from such countries and valued
in terms of deprecated currency.
Thus, in writing the rates of the pending tariff
bill the Republicans merely followed the sane and
economic policy that is recognized the world over
when they made a very stiff advance in the rates
as compared with rates in pre-war days.