Evening star., 1935-11-18
BY the Associated Press.
-HE text of the State Depart
ment's general statement on
the Canadian trade agreement


Tine trade negotiations between the
American and Canadian governments,
which were initiated in the latter part
of 1884, eliminated Friday in the sig
nature of a trade agreement OF WIDE
reaching scope which is of major I'M
portance to the producers and the con-
sumers of both countries, and the
stimulating effect of which on industry
and commerce as whole will be a ma
terial factor in general economic re-
covery on both sides of the border.
The agreement should assure
marked increase in the exports OF each
country to the other; and that means
a marked increase in their total export
trade, since Canada is the second
largest customer for our export and
since the United States is the second
largest consumer of Canadian eX-
ports
In Effect January I.
The new rates fixed in the agree
on January !, 1886.
Most of the crude and simply-man-
ufactured products which we buy
from Canada have been free of Amer
iCan duty in the past, and by the
trade agreement nearly all of the i'm
portant free items are bound
against the imposition of any duty
or import tax. AS a compensation for
our action with respect to free COM
modities, which is of great benefit to
her, Canada has made substantial
reductions in duties on American
commodities which represent a sub
stantially larger value of trade than
Is represented by the Canadian COM
moditieS on which we have reduced
duties under the agreement, although
the reductions made by the United
States cover large proportion of the
dutiable imports from Canada. !"
Duties and other charges will be
lowered on products of which we ship
ped to Canada, in the fiscal year
ending March, 1880, about $4l5,-
600 900.
On the other hand. the concessions
made to Canada by the United States
in the agreement are also OF wide
reaching character. They affect COM
modities which accounted for about
two-thirds of our total imports from
Canada in 1929.
Imports from Canada into the
United States dropped from S503 ,000,-
900 in 1929 to $232 900 900 in 1884, or
by 81 per cent. Exports from the
United States to Canada dropped from
$685. 100000 in 1929 mot including
grain in transit for Europe), to s302,-
600 in 1884, a decrease of 66 per
cent.
Canadian Concessions.
The Canadian concessions to the
United States fall into four general
groups:
%. Direct duty reductions on items
named, commodity by commodity in
what is known as schedule l of the
agreement.
az. The grant to the United States
on all other commodities Of the low
est rates now or hereafter paid by
any non-British country Ohese are
commonly referred to as most favored
foreign nation" rates. in place of the
higher general" rates.
80 A large and satisfactory mea-
sure of relief with respect to the
Canadian system of arbitrary valua-
tions heretofore applied on many
commodities.
t4) Benefits to commercial travel
ers and to transmit trade passing
through the United States resulting
from general provisions of the agree
ment, together with promised legis-
lation regarding exemption of tourist
purchases from duty.
Those duty reductions on the part
of Canada which are specified by
name in schedule |, together with a
few items on which the existing rates
are bound against increase, number
about 180. The commodities covered
accounted for SITS, ,000O 900 out of the
total Of s523,0O0,00O of dutiable i'm
ports into Canada from the United
States in the fiscal year l929-30.
Rates at Lowest.
In the case of 80 or more duty
reductions specified in schedule l..
however, representing a value of trade
in the base year l929-30 of over Sll5,-
100000, the rates named are lower
than those heretofore paid by any
non-British country.
OF almost equally great advantage to
American agriculture and industry is
the fact that under the trade agree
ment all commodities which we sell to
Canada, including hundreds of items
not listed in schedule l, will hereafter
pay no rate of duty higher than the
lowest rate. whether now in effect or
hereafter established, on the goods of
any other country outside of the
British Empire.
This means that hereafter American
goods receive the benefit ta) of all
the intermediate" rates of the
Canadian tariff; (b) of the still lower
rates fixed on many items by Can
ada's existing trade agreements with
other non-British countries, notably
with France; and Co of any lower
rates hereafter fixed by trade agree
mentS of Canada with any non-British
country. Although, unlike the items
In schedule l, the duty reductions on
these items are not bound as to dura-
ton, they become effective immedi-
etely when the agreement enters into
force
Listed in Separate Table.
All the export products of the
United States affected by these Ca
madam concessions are listed in a
separate table, which shows for each
the old and the new rates, the per-
centage of duty reduction and the
value of Canadian imports from the
United States during the fiscal years
1929-l930 and l934-1935. The follow
ing summary shows, by commodity
groups. the wide distribution of the
trade beneflting from reductions in
Canadian duties. 1t includes all items
where the reductions are the result of
schedule / or of the extension to us
Of most-favored foreign nation rates.
Value Of imports