The Indian Budget, presented by Sir C. Deshmukh last Monday,
has brought further disappointment to Lancashire textile men. A little time ago it was hoped that the scope of the export duties on Indian cloth would be widened in a way which would reduce the flow of exports to Britain. This flow consists mainly of medium-quality cloths which have been free of duty since last autumn. It was also hoped that the Indian tariff wall against Lancashire goods would be lowered. Sir Chintaman acted quite differently. Indian import duties were untouched, and the scope of the export duties remains the same, while the rate of duty on coarse cloth has been re- duced. Britain imports little coarse cloth, but there is no doubt about the motives which prompted the Indian Finance Minister to act in this way. The Indian Government is deter- mined to increase exports of textiles and, as Sir Chintaman said, this reduction of duty is 'to assist India's competi- tive position in world markets.' This means still stronger competition for Lancashire from Indian merchants in the colonies and elsewhere. Meanwhile, not many Lancashire folk are likely to be seduced by the proposals put forward by Mr. Harold Wilson, now one of the leading Bourbon,econom- ists on the Left. It may seem a splendid idea to him to centralise imports of cotton goods under a system of bulk purchase which would only take in the goods it chooses. But what happens if the long-suffering public eventually objects to being treated in this way? Mr. Wilson's scheme is merely an attempt to hide the fact that Lancashire is not giving the public the goods it wants at competitive prices. It is useless to talk about 'unfair competition' Competition is unfair, presumably, whenever something can be imported more cheaply than it can be made here. It is true that wages are low in India. But is Mr. Wilson seriously considering shutting the British market to the Indians and thus making these wages even lower? How does this fit in with Socialist plans for raising the standard of living in the underdeveloped countries? How often does it have to be pointed out that British wages seem just as low to the Ameri- cans as Indian wages appear to us? Suppose the United States were to refuse to import goods based on 'unfair competition' from Britain? What would Mr. Wilson say then?
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