The Tariff Tangle The news that Denmark, Sweden and Norway
have accepted the invitation of the British Government to come and talk tariffs would arouse more enthusiasm if we could sec better what the basis of the conversation is to be. Denmark, which is primarily in our minds after the Copenhagen Exhibition, is concerned about her exports of butter and eggs and bacon, but all she can be told is that we are in process of putting on a duty of 15s. a cwt. on butter, and of varying amounts on eggs, and to keep it so for five years. The fate of bacon is still unknown. The most we can do, apparently, is to undertake not to drive the duties higher still. Not much is left there of Mr: Runciman's original idea of putting on British tariffs temporarily with a view to getting all tariffs permanently lowered. As for the other side of the Ottawa agreements, it is instructive to find Mr. Lyons, the Primo Minister of Australia, assuring Sydney manufacturers that Australia had reduced none of her protective duties, but had increased the margin of British by raising duties against foreigners on some 400 items—one more com- mentary on the claim that Ottawa is resulting in a net decrease of world tariffs.
