CO129-328 - Governor Nathan - 1905 [1-6] — Page 349

COPY.

Enclosure 1.

10221

344

Jan 6 HAY OF

Note handed to the Consul-General for the

United States of

America.

III of the Brussels Sugar Convention of March 5th., 1902,

ARTICLE

lays down that:-

"The High Contracting Parties undertake to *limit the surtax to a maximum of 6 francs per 100 Kilo- "grammes for refined sugar and assimilable sugars and to "a maximum of 5 fr. 50 c. for other sugars. The surtax is "the difference between the rate of duty or taxation to "which foreign sugars are subject and that imposed on the "home product".

Countries affected by the Convention are bound to either impose an import duty not less than the excess of the surtax over the above amounts or to prohibit the entry into them of sugar from the countries that have an excess surtax. Bong kong is affected by the Convention. Being a free port it can- not impose import duties and is bound to prohibit importation.

The Permanent Commission which gives effect

to the Convention has ruled that the import duty on Raw Sugar at the Philippines is equivalent to an excess over the recognised surtax of 1 fr. 31 c. per 100 Kilogrammes.

Unless this excess surtax is removed it may be necessary for Hongkong to issue a prohibition order against the importation of Raw Sugar from the Philippines.

This would injuriously affect Hongkong and

cannot be of any advantage to the Philippines.