The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1951-03-08
Duffy Urges
(Coniinued From Page Oae)

signs Of recovery appear soon, fur
ther lay-offs are carried out and j
the difficulty is widespread anon,
producers in general, great DANCE
of depression develops and of in
ability to re-hire for an indefinit,
period. During all this time the EN-
ployees suffer serious injury. Tn,
employers, on their part, may sue
ceed in protecting their financia
position for a time, depending OF
the length of the period before re
newed buying returns. If, however
demand does not return in time, the
manufacturers also begin to suffer
losses. Howefer, long before this
real injury has been suffered by
the employees and by the commun.
tiles in which they live and spenc
their money.
During such a period, imports
begin to enjoy an increasing com
petitive advantage, especially il
the goods come from countries
where low-wages prevail. If domes-
tic producers do reduce their prices
to meet the import prices, import
ers are in a position to out-bid
them because they have a wider
margin to play with. The result can
only be complete decentralization Of
the market, unless steps are taken
to prevent the senseless decline by
removing the pressure.
an 1850, events outside of the
pottery industry brought about an
upturn in business, and saved the
day. AS the outlook improved, the
pottery plants re-hired their en-
ployees and production resumed its
previous pace.
"The experience, however, was
enough to let US know exactly
where we stand under these trade
agreements; and there is nothing
about it. We can thank
our stars for the rescue, but can
hardly expect to be pulled out of a
similar danger next time. We want
20 make it clear that the rescue
:ame from the outside and not
rom the trade agreements pro-
gram itself.
"This is the important lesson.
There was nothing in the trade|
agreements program that we could
ook to for relief. The ESCAPED
Clause was obviously a farce; ifl
lot a booby-trap. AS long as it wasI
op policy to promote imports, even
f at the expense of small industry,
is was proclaimed openly by thel
State Department and ECA, thereI
vas no point in making out an ap-
,lication under the Escape Clause.
There is enough loose play in thel
wording of that Clause as it hasl
'een written into our trade agree
nents, to enable any administrative
.gency to deny a remedy. The re-
ord shows that only one industry
las been given relief out of 20 ap-i
lications. The Executive Order
which governs administration ofl
he Clause shows on the face of it
hat there was no serious intent to
rovide means of relief. Complete
iscretion was given to the Tariff
to decide whether an
should be ordered. If
hey should order one, there is no
hing laid down as a guide-noth-
~ that tells them what they must
axe into account. In other words,
is a completely arbitrary extern
ion of power, contrary to Ameri-
an practice.
"T h S unsatisfactory condition
hould be remedied as soon as pos
BILE. | dread to think of the next
me we again face a situation like
le one Of a year ago; and unless
e are going to have succession
{ national emergencies, we will in
eed come up against similar sit
ation-a situation made worse byI
le restored and, in some instances,
approved and enlarged productivel
overs of other countries.
owe cannot expect to be lucky
gain. We must have real
smedy, one that can be invoked
ith the assurance that thorough
will be ordered and a
,rious effort made to provide a 1
,medy. l.
This requires a revision of the ,
resent Clause and a rewriting of {
le administrative procedure gov {
ming it. II
"The amendment to H.R. 1912
assed by the House, which re-
Tires an investigation and hear Il
g in each case and also finding i
fact, would greatly improve the t
llue of the Clause. Probably the {
.eatest improvement lies in the &
'ovision that would permit the i'm s
,sition of import quotas. This !
ould remove one of the most in
rious' elements of import competi-
On at time such as the pottery:
dustry faced year ago, as des-
ibed above. This is the fear of an
er increasing volume of imports s
fered at prices below the prevail
G domestic levels, exactly at a v
ne when the domestic industry is
ced by the need of making re- t
justment to a buyers market. A g