Evening star., 1932-08-07
Britain Is Concerned
At Canada's Proposal
BY A. G. GARDINER.

LONDON, August 6.-The cabinet, in
| session this week, expected 1t would
have to decide the fateful question Of
whether Britain would tax foreign meat
and dairy produce in return for domin-
ion preferences on British manufac-
! lures. No decision was reached on the
terms of the offer of Premier Richard
B. Bennett of Canada, which did not
arrive until late in the week. The pub
lie reception Of those terms Is un-
promising.
1t is agreed that the success Of the
! Ottawa conference depends mainly
upon the outcome Of discussions with
Canada and Australia, and 1t is clear
that the proposals Of neither conform
with Stanley Baldwin's principle that
the basis of agreement must be lower
| tariffs. Neither former Premier Stanley
Bruce of Australia nor Bennett is ready
to depart from the high-protectionist
policy or concede anything like COM
/ petitive entry to the bulk Of British
| manufactures.
Both are willing" says the London
Times, ito increase the margin Of pref
erence on British goods by raising the
tariff against foreign imports, but are
unwilling to lower the tariff against
Britain"
This will not do, and BENEFITS pro-
posal is severely criticized. His as
sumption is that If Britain taxes food,
timber and most Of the metals she i'm
ports. her exports to Canada will be
doubled. This is frankly discredited.
No such extraordinary diversion of
trade" says the Manchester Guardian,
ever has been contemplated outside of
President de Valera's fantasy Of making
, Ireland do without Britain"
X X
We are asked to believe that Canada
is willing to cease buying from the
United States nearly all imports of iron,
steel, chemicals, metal manufactures
and anthracite for the benefit of British
trade, but the view is that this scheme
is not designed to expose Canadian
manufactures to keener British compe-
titlon. but to strengthen their position
oy making American goods dearer and
increasing the incentive to American
firms to settle in Canada
Instructed opinion here rejects the
notion that artiicially stimulated trade
/ across 5000 miles Of ocean can replace
natural trade across an invisible land
frontier. Such hypothesis is too frag-
A4C a bdS4S 10 LaxaIlOn OF the
food of 10000. 900 people dependent on
overseas supplies.
X
Much surprise is expressed that Ben-
nett revives the proposal of dominion
preference on wheat in the British mar
ket. Australia, while wanting the
British to tax meat in the interests of
the domin1onS, opposes the tariff on
wheat, taking the view that since the
dominionS produce more wheat than
Britain can purchase, the effect of
preference to dominion wheat would be
more than cOunterbalanced by the dis
location of the world market. This also
is the view expressed by spokesmen for
the Canadian wheat farmers.
Probably the Canadian governments
heavy financial commitments in regard
to the wheat pools account for Ben
nett's attitude, but the London Times
points out that serious complications
are involved in the proposal. If the
British millerS are handicapped bv
duties on foreign wheat they have the
right to be protected against compett-
ton OF Canadian millers, Certainly as
much right as Canadian textile manu-
lacturerS have to be protected against
the manufactures Of Yorkshire and
Lancashire. The claims Of the British
mlllers, however. are opposed by the
Canadian millers, who urge weirhtv
arguments directed to show the DAM
aging effect to them of a British duty
on dominion -four.
AS the position stands Britain ia IN
Nted to impose taxes on food and ma
tterlals. which must involve a farther
handicap on its foreign trade. L, -etI,rn.
not Tor free ,ccmnetition in the domin
Ion market, but for illGsory preferences
on tariffs which effectively secure o,'1S%
lection for dominion manufactures
cannot conceive Of such a solution
being adopted without the disruption OF
the present British government and its
reputation by the country.
(Copyright. I932)