Appendix  d.—report  on  german  tariff.

19

1899-1901  was  over  31  million  £,  while  the  direct  exports  of  British  produce ­
  from  this  country  to  Germany  was  under  26  million  £.  For  the
three  years  1879-81,  20  years  ago,  the  corresponding  figures  were,  imports
23  million  £,  exports  18  million  £;  while  10  years  ago  (in  1889-91)  the
averages  were,  imports  27  million  £,  exports  19  million  £.  The  increase
in  our  imports  from  Germany  in  the  20  years  has  been  8  million  £,  or
35  per  cent,  on  the  average,  and  in  our  exports  to  Germany  7  million  £,
or  39  per  cent,  it  is  clear,  therefore,  that  both  countries  have  reaped
considerable  advantages  from  the  condition  of  affairs  hitherto  existing,
advantages  which  have  by  no  means  been  diminished  on  either  side  by  the
German  tariff  reductions  established  by  the  operation  of  the  commercial
treaties  concluded  by  Germany  in  1892.  As  matters  stand,  too,  we  are
among  Germany's  best  customers,  12  per  cent,  of  Germany’s  import  trade
(according  to  the  German  official  trade  statistics  for  1898-1900),  and  19
per  cent,  of  her  export  trade,  being  trade  with  the  United  Kingdom,  It
would  appear,  therefore,  from  all  these  figures  that  Germany  has  more  to
lose  by  placing  restrictions  in  the  way  of  the  development  of  the  trade
between  the  two  countries,  which  is  being  carried  on  to  the  mutual  advantage
of  both,  than  the  United  Kingdom  has,  especially  when  it  is  seen  from  the
British  trade  statistics  that  our  direct  imports  from  Germany  only  amount  to
about  6  per  cent,  of  our  whole  import  trade,  and  our  direct  exports  of  our
own  produce  to  Germany  to  only  about  9  per  cent,  of  our  whole  export  trade
in  such  produce.
Into  the  matters  of  internal  policy  which  may  have  weighed  with  the
German  Government  in  proposing  some  of  the  increased  rates  of  the  draft
tariff,  we  cannot,  of  course,  enter  ;  nor  is  it  our  business  to  inquire  how  far
that  Government  may  have  been  influenced  in  their  proposals  by  the  pressure
felt  by  German  traders  (and  felt  equally  by  British  traders)  of  increased  and
protective  duties  in  other  markets.  Two  facts,  however,  cannot  be  too
strongly  insisted  upon,  viz.,  that  no  duties  of  customs  are  levied  in  this
country  for  protective  purposes,  and  that  in  no  Other  country  are
German  products  and  German  trade  treated  as  favourably  as  they  are  in
the  United  Kingdom.  As  a  mere  matter  of  equity  it  must  be  urged  that
it  would  be  unreasonable  for  Germany  to  penalise  British  trade  on  account
of  the  impediments  placed  in  the  way  of  the  development  of  her  own  trade
by  other  nations,  and  it  would  similarly  seem  to  be  inequitable,  in  the
circumstances,  to  mete  out  to  British  trade  the  same  treatment  as  that
accorded  to  the  trade  of  countries  such  as  the  United  States,  which  levy
heavy  protective  duties  on  German  goods.  The  impression,  however,  has
certainly  obtained  a  footing  in  this  country  that  some  of  the  new  German
tariff  proposals  have  been  specially  framed  to  hit  British  trade,  and  an
examination  of  the  facts  in  some  lines  would  tend  to  afford  ground  for
such  a  belief.
We  append  a  statement  showing  in  detail  some  of  the  principal  paragraphs
of  the  draft  tariff  to  which  exception  is  taken  by  British  manufacturers  and
merchants,  and  comparing  the  proposed  new  rates  of  duty  with  those  which
are  at  present  in  existence.  A  merely  casual  glance  at  this  statement,  which
shows  that  the  rates  of  duty  on  most  of  the  articles  mentioned  are  proposed
to  be  largely  increased,  and,  in  some  instances,  advanced  to  quite  a  prohibitive ­
  point,  will  serve  to  explain  the  impression-alluded  to  above,  which
has  undoubtedly  afforded  additional  support  to  the  arguments  and  representations ­
  of  the  advocates  in  this  country  of  some  form  of  retaliation.
Resolutions  in  favour  of  the  adoption  of  a  policy  of  retaliation  on  German
trade  have  even  reached  us  from  some  important  Chambers  of  Commerce.
It  is  no  part  of  our  function,  and  it  is  certainly  foreign  to  our  intention,
to  offer  any  criticism  upon  the  policy  of  protection  adopted  either  by  the
German  or  any  other  Government.  But  it  is  difficult  to  see  on  what  grounds
the  increased  protection  now  proposed  to  be  given  on  many  important  groups
of  articles  can  be  justified  from  the  German  point  of  view,"or  what  benefit,  at
least  to  the  German  State  revenue,  can  be  expected  to  result  from  it.  We  take
as  examples  the  three  most  important  groups  of  manufactured  articles  in
British  export  trade—cotton  tissues,  woollen  tissues,  and  iron  and  steel  goods.
According  to  German  official  statistics,  the  quantities  of  cotton  piece-goods
C  2