.jpg)
The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 40
American Duties on Wool
American Duties on Wool.
At the last annual meeting of the Chamber special notice was directed to the excessive duty levied on New Zealand and Australian Wools imported into the United States, and urging that the interests of the several countries would be best advanced by the removal of existing obstacles to free commercial intercourse, and by substituting an ad valorem duty on wools the produce of New Zealand and Australia at a rate which would admit those of New Zealand without injury to the lower grades of American growth. The Committee for the present year have had the subject several times under discussion, and the subjoined memorial was forwarded through the American Consul, Mr. Henry Driver, M.H.R., for presentation to the Government of the United States. By the last mail the subjoined reply was received, from which it will be seen how hopeless at the present time are the prospects of any
page 5
change being made in the fiscal system of the United States in respect to Wool duties :—
Dunedin, New Zealand, November 14th, 1880.
| 1. | That interchange between the United States and this rapidly, growing Colony would thereby be promoted. |
| 2. | That New Zealand produces in large quantities precisely the quality of wools most desired by the American manufacturers, and such as would not come into competition with the wools which form a large part of the American production. |
| 3. | That there is a growing demand in the Colony for many of your products, such as kerosene, tobacco, hardware, lumber, canned goods, agricultural machinery, and many other manufactures which it needs only frequent and cheap inter-communication to develop into a large trade. |
| 4. | That nothing would so much promote such trade as direct exports of wool from this Colony to the States, affording, as they would, return freight for the vessels bringing us your manufactures. |
| 5. | That our trade with the United States is at present one-sided, the imports into New Zealand from the United States having reached in 1879 £438,399, while the exports only aggregated £59,679, although the total value of New Zealand exports in that year was £5,743,126, included in which was wool to the value of £3,126,439, and of the total weight of 62,220,810 lbs. |
| 6. | New Zealand has for some years, in concert with New South Wales, joined in subsidising one of your largest steamship companies to keep up a monthly communication with San Francisco, and a considerable trade with the United States has grown up, and is still growing, though much restricted by your tariff. |
| 7. | The Customs duties of New Zealand have been imposed merely for revenue purposes, and are no barrier to the increase of trade with the United States were there reciprocity of interchange. |
| 8. | We conclude, therefore, that great advantages to both countries would accrue by the withdrawal of the restrictions to which we have adverted, and we trust that the Government of the United States will, by considering the question of the wool duties in its bearing on the future trade of the United States and its relations with these southern seas, devise such measure of will remove the great existing obstacle to trade between America and this progressive Colony and the Australian Colonies generally. |