CO129-491 - Public Offices - 1925 — Page 11

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enquiries into costs of production if His Majesty's

Government had found it necessary to place an embargo on

this part of their activities. In the second place, the

intention of the United States Government to give instruc

tions that the enquiries shall not be made, is scarcely

material since the sole result would be the automatic

exclusion from the United States of the goods of any firm whose costs of production the United States authorities

would otherwise have investigated.

11. His Majesty's Government are most anxious that

the United States Government should remove this penalty, the severity of which they cannot but think excessive. Though the proposals now conveyed to me by you contain no suggestion that the United States Government are ready to do this, yet, in my desire to reach some solution satisfactory to both parties, I venture to recall to your attention the suggestion made in the memorandum accom- panying my semi-official note of February 17th to which I

have already referred.

12. In that memorandum the following passage

occurred:-

"When the Safeguarding of Industries Act, 1921, was before Parliament a similar question was raised in this country with regard to the assessment of dumping duty in the ordinary sense. There was then a considerable body of opinion both in the country and in Parliament prepared to acquiesce in the imposition of a dumping duty when foreign goods were sold in this country below their actual cost of production, on the ground that to sell below the cost of production was in fact dumping as commonly understood, whereas to sell at a price lower than

the