I move that this Bill be read a Second Time. The purpose of the Bill is to permit of the appointment and variation by the Executive Council of the countries in respect of which preferential rates attaching to existing or future customs duties shall apply. As Deputies are aware, a number of the customs duties imposed under various Finance Acts carry with them a preferential rate. Under the existing law, the benefit of that preferential rate is extended automatically to all countries which are members of the British Commonwealth. That practice has prevailed since the establishment of the Saorstát, the principle of preferential rates enjoyable by members of the Commonwealth having been embodied in a British Finance Act before the Saorstát was established. Subsequent to the coming into operation of the Saorstát, considerable changes, in practice, in this regard took place in all countries of the Commonwealth. In fact, no country in the Commonwealth, apart from the Irish Free State, at the present time automatically extends to all other Commonwealth countries the benefit of any preferential rate associated with a customs duty.
Arising out of the Ottawa Conference, there were a number of bilateral treaties providing for the granting by one Commonwealth country to another Commonwealth country, parties to the same Treaty, a certain preferential treatment. The preferential treatment thus conferred was enjoyed only by the signatories to the Treaty. It was not generally extended. The Conference decided not to make any recommendation in favour of the general extension of preferences amongst Commonwealth countries. The purpose of this Bill is to bring the law of the Saorstát into conformity with the law of other countries as regards the conferring of preferential rates of customs on other countries. Under the Bill, it is proposed that where any country is enjoying a preferential rate in respect of any customs duty at present, it will continue to do so but, where a new duty is imposed, that preferential rate shall not become operative until an order has been made by the Executive Council granting the benefit of it to some country or countries named in that order. The benefit of a preferential rate in relation to a customs duty, whether conferred under some existing Act or conferred at some future date by order under this Bill, can be withdrawn by order of the Executive Council in a similar manner. The Bill provides that any order of the Executive Council made under the Bill remains valid for three months and then ceases to be valid unless approved of by the Dáil, with a provision, similar to that embodied in the Control of Imports Bill, which prevents the Executive Council repeating an order which has been either disapproved of by the Dáil or revoked by the Executive Council before submission to the Dáil. A certain modification of a similar sub-section in the Control of Imports Bill was inserted during its passage through the Oireachtas and a similar amendment will be prepared for this Bill.
I have given a general outline of the Bill and the purpose of its introduction. There are certain changes which, I think, should be made in it, having regard to the discussion on the Control of Imports Bill, which is of a similar type. I have indicated that change in respect of Section 5. I think it would be desirable, also, that the period between the making of the Order and the final date at which approval by the Dáil must be obtained should be the same in both Bills— namely, six months. It has happened that adjournments of the Dáil have been for a longer period than three months and, under such circumstances, an awkward situation would arise necessitating the calling of a special meeting of the Dáil if the period following the making of the Order were about to lapse during the adjournment. Those Deputies who have been taking part with me in the discussion of the Control of Imports Bill and who know of the changes effected in the Seanad will understand that similar changes are likely in regard to this Bill in matters of definition and safeguards of one kind or another.
I do not anticipate that the Bill will be used very extensively. It is desirable that the power should be there. We must bear in mind that with certain countries the Saorstát has, at present, treaties or arrangements for the granting of most-favoured-nation treatment. Of course, if the benefit of a preferential rate attaching to any duty were extended to any country outside the British Commonwealth every country entitled to most-favoured-nation treatment would, also, be entitled to get the benefit of that preferential rate. That does not apply to the Commonwealth except in so far as the Dominion of Canada is concerned. The Dominion of Canada is the only country with a most-favoured-nation treaty with Saorstát Eireann. There is a treaty with South Africa which provides for certain concessions in connection with named commodities. The arrangements that operate with other countries have similar modifications attached to them. It is not anticipated that the operation of the most-favoured-nation clause will detract considerably from the value of this Bill as an instrument of negotiation.
It is not likely that many of the countries enjoying these rates from us will be interested in the sale, in this country, of any commodity in respect of which it may be desired to make treaty arrangements with any particular country. However, if there are, obviously the most-favoured nation obligations of the State will have to be honoured; and it is the intention of the Government to preserve these wherever possible, because they confer advantages of considerable value, particularly where trade between the Saorstát and the countries concerned is not of very great dimensions. Where trade is of considerable dimensions the most-favoured-nation clause has been very largely inoperative, because the several Governments of Europe have succeeded by various devices in getting round the particular obligations there. On that account the Government of the Saorstát consider that it may be necessary to terminate the most-favoured-nation agreements in operation with several countries because it has been made inoperative by various devices. That consideration will arise when other arrangements possibly for the exchange of stated commodities or commodities of stated value are being made instead. This measure is largely a measure to supplement the Control of Imports Bill and is, in fact, part of the same scheme to secure power to negotiate trade arrangements more beneficial to the Saorstát than those now operating.
