Evening star., 1934-04-24

1Ilduc III xUdly, OE pcIlClLS dIfQ LeXLllcS
made in Japan? Or. II the power to
reduce duties were to be exercised in
the case Of agricultural products, we
might find some official deciding for
US in the name Of the President that
all Of our dairy products ought to
come from Canada, our wheat from
Canada and Russia, our wool from
Australia, our cattle from the Argen-
tine and our cotton from Egypt, so
that these countries in theory could
buy more automobiles from America.
That might make the people of De-
troit happy II the theory worked, but
I doubt very much whether 1t would
add to the total happiness of the
American people.
And that, in short, Is exactly what
the President is proposing. He is ask
ing this power for trading purposes,
so that, in his unrestrained discretion,
he can let in larger volume of for
eign goods SO that. at least in theory,
we could sell larger volume Of Amer
ican goods in some foreign market.
Bad Bargain Possible.
When we stop to consider that, ex-
cept for automobiles and machinery
and . limited group of other manu-
tactures in which we specialize, and
which we turn out In quantities which
cannot be duplicated elsewhere In the
world because of the wealth and ex-
tent of our domestic market, other
nations can make most of the things
we do, and make them very much
cheaper, it is impossible to conceive
that we would get anything but the
worst of the bargain in any such re-
ciprocal tariff policy. We have so
much that they want and they SO
little that we want.
strongly suspect that the shrewd
people who dominate the foreign pol
icy Of the other trading countries are
laughing up their sleeves at this mo-
ment in anticipation Of what they will
do to us If Congress should give the
President what he wants. I am not
sure that 1t will, and hope earnestly
that 1t won't
But, you say, the President has the
power now to raise or to lower tariff
duties within the same range of SO
per cent. True, he has, but only after
thorough inquiry by the Tariff Com
mission into the cost of the domestic
product and the competing foreign
product. And only after the Tariff
Commission, having ascertained the
that the existing tariff duty be raised
or lowered In order to equalize the
prices Of the foreign and the domestic
product in the principal markets of
this country. II it costs a dollar to
make a given article in Germany and
q dollar and half to make the same
article here. the tariff in that event
would be so per cent or SO cents on
the German product, so that the
American manufacturer and the Ger
man could compete on equal terms in
New York or Boston or Philadelphia
or Detroit or whatever happened to
be the principal domestic market for
this particular product.
Acts on Facts.
That is the way the tariff and the
flexible provision of the tariff act
work out at present. The Tariff Com
mission reports the facts to the Presi-
dent and the President acts on the
facts. But what Is being asked now
Is power which would permit the
President to change tariff duties-and
that means change them downward
without regard to the facts. What
the President asks is permission to
ignore the facts, to shut his eyes to
the facts, to raise or lower tariff duties
without even asking for the facts.
That is the eWl in this proposal. That
Is the reason that some of us, not as
political partisans, but as experienced
legislators and business men, with
some knowledge of conditions in
American industry as well as In for
eign countries, have thought it neces-
sary to oppose the Presidents proposal
as strongly as We know how.
There Is in the bill no provision
whatever for any representation or
hearing Of those most vitally inter-
ested, before the President negotiates
his proposed treaties and sweeps away
in doing so the trade position of some
American industry. Not until the
treaty was actually signed would any
industry know Of the Presidents pur-
pose to shut it down in favor Of some
foreign competitor American farmers
or American workmen would wake up