The Ottawa Agreements Act The Bill necessary to bring the
Ottawa agreements into force became an Act on Tuesday, and as one result the immunity granted till November 15th from the import duties in force against the rest of the world has been prolonged for the duration of the Ottawa treaties for goods from all the Dominions except the Irish Free State. Against the latter the 10 per cent. operates automatically as an addition to the Special Duties imposed as a means of recouping the British Treasury for its loss of the with- held annuities. Consequently butter, eggs, cream and poultry now pay 40 per cent, ad valorem instead of 30.. In spite of the distress the fiscal fight with Great Britain involves, Mr. de Valera survived a censure motion in the Dail on Tuesday by a margin of five votes instead of the usual seven, and now goes off, politically secure, to preside over the League of Nations Council. As for the broader consequences of Ottawa itself, if the agreements reached are to be judged by the criterion suggested by Mr. Baldwin's aim of securing a general reduction of tariffs, it is pertinent to note the alarm expressed by the Reich Federation of German Industry, on the ground that 83 items in the Canadian, and 440 items in the Australian schedules have been raised against foreign countries.
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