Biggest day in the life of Cordell Hull since he became Secretary of State was the day last week when he sat down at Franklin Roosevelt's desk to put his name on a reciprocal trade treaty with Canada. By that act he served one of his most profound convictions. Nothing has ever shaken Mr. Hull's faith in the venerable Democratic doctrine of low tariff. To him a tariff fence erected to prevent men trading with other men across a man-made international boundary line is no less an economic crime than any law passed to forbid men from trading with others across a county line, across a street, across a counter.
In high but very courteous good humor, he bore the recriminations which were hurled at him and his treaty. For although the treaty does not go into force until Jan. 1, although its terms were kept secret for 48 hours (to allow for their transmission and simultaneous release in Ottawa) the howls of aggrieved lobbyists had already begun a serenade in Washington. Whether there had been some leak or whether they knew that tariff cuts were due them, the industries affected began to squeal. Lumbermen protested that they were being "sold down the river," dairymen that it would be a crime to spoil their "scientific" tariff. Cattlemen, Maine men (potatoes), maple syrup men joined in the chorus.
Knowing that, no matter how relieved these choristers might be at the mildness of the treaty's terms, their howls would increase as a matter of policy, Mr. Hull, the President and Secretary Wallace sat down on a Sunday afternoon in the State dining room to convince newshawks how great would be the benefits, how little the pain of the operation.
Canadian Concessions. From Canada, Bargainer Hull had got special reductions or abolition of duties on 180 items of Canadian imports from the U. S. In addition he had got most-favored nation status, which the U. S. did not enjoy before. This not only enables foreign goods en route to Canada to be shipped without extra duty through U. S. ports. It also saves U. S. salesmen from paying duty on samples they carry into Canada. It also means that U. S. goods will pay as low rates of duty as the goods of any other nation (except British possessions) increasing the number of tariff reductions to 767.
Most important tariff cuts by Canada included halving the duty on agricultural machinery, reductions of 25% to 80% on other machinery, putting all tractors on the free list, 25% to 50% reduction for meat, duty free oranges during four months (January through April), half off for grapefruit, one-eighth to one-quarter off the automobile tariff, similar cuts on electric refrigerators, washing machines, radios and abolition of the duty on magazines.* Furthermore Canada promised to keep U. S. raw cotton on her free list. Duty free likewise will be soya beans, bristles, eggplant, artichokes, horseradish and okra, hop poles and railway ties, tourist literature, zinc dust, Mexican saddle trees. Duties will be lower on a multitude of off-season vegetables, on regalia and badges, on albumenized paper, peaviners, wire (single and several), pruning hooks, cantaloupes, dynamos, surgical dressings, sanitary napkins and abdominal supports.