The new, Customs tariff, which embodies a number of drastic. changes in the rates enforced by t National Government of China and which has been promulgated by, the provisional governments of North and Central China for the areas under Japanese control, went into effect yesterday. Some twenty items are the subject of change, the others being mostly what they were before. Only a very few copies of the tariff, however, are at present available in Shanghai.
A call at the Customs. House yesterday showed that even in the offices most concerned there was a shortage of copies of the tariff while in/not a few offices the clerks had "not even seen" a copy of the tariff. What few copies of the tariff were available to the public were securely tied down and around them office boys and clerks struggled all day long. copying down as best they could the various items or ticking items off on copies.of the now superseded tariff.
ion in foreign business circles yesterday in Shanghai yesterday was varied and, for the- most part, cautious. As one business man pointed out, comment either way would be more harmful than useful, offending either the Japanese or the Chinese.
Apart from the political side, the consensus was that as far as foreign business went in the present almost "dead" market, the new tariff made little difference, although it was agreed that in certain cases Japanese importers might profit by the new rates.
On the other hand, the intimation that the Customs would be enable* to enforce its authority north of the Soochow Creek and in Pootung was received with some signs of gratification. For some considerable time now, goods have been landed in Shanghai from Japan duty-free under the somewhat generous label of "military supplies" nearly all Japanese imported g being brought here by Japanese ships coming under this heading.
The new tariff rates do not cover export duties, which in general will be imposed in accordance with the terms of the old tariff. The Tevenüe surtax is now replaced by a 5 per cent, relief tax, the proceeds of which will be used "for the relief of the distressed areas."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.