MOTOR TOPICS
UNRESTRICTED IMPORTS
BY H. THORNTON RUTTER.
There is great consternation on the part of the manufacturers of motor goods at the recent utterances of the Prime Minister in regard to the unrestricted importation of these commodities. But nobody appears to be quite sure as to what it really means, or whether it cancels the arrangement with the American importers to permit 5,000 vehicles to come here, and no more than this for the present, or whether the U.S.A. may send all the motor-cars they can get shipping space for. One may begin by stating frankly that British makers of motor vehicles do not fear the competition of European rivals. The import duty of 33 per cent. ad valorem is quite sufficient to keep these from seriously hurting the English manufacturer. This impost, however, the trade appears to imagine, will not prevent the U.S.A firms from flooding the British market. Personally, I think their apprehension is more imaginary than real, as it appears that the U.S.A manufacturer is finding difficulty in supplying his home market, while a greater puzzle is to obtain sufficient space in holds of such cargo boats that are available to ship such surplus he has. In the near future, however, both those “brakes” will disappear, and then the British manufacturer will be in trouble unless his works have got into full swing, with ample supplies of materials and no labour troubles to stop the output. The important question to be answered is: When will the works of motor manufacturers in this country be in this position?
I regret to state I cannot answer it, but I do know that none of them are in that favourable condition to-day, and those I have inspected recently do not show any signs that they will reach their maximum effort for the next twelve months.
The Government promised to protect “key” industries, but in the list of them so far published, motor vehicles do not appear. Whether the industry can persuade those in authority to include them remains to be seen. If they do, all is well, and the threatened attack disappears. At the same time the public will have to pay more for cars, as our makers cannot produce in such vast quantities the cheaper forms of vehicles which their rivals in the U.S.A. manufacture. Consequently, if the industry is to be nursed it ought to be controlled in regard to profits, and not allowed to make more than, say, 15 per cent. for shareholders. This would be a fair profit, and its only drawback would be a disinclination on the part of badly managed concerns to reduce their costs.
But at present, and one fears for some time, England is a big debtor to America, and such cash that has to be transferred from this country should be for raw materials, and not for manufactured goods.