[Inclosure 1 in No. 308.]
Mr. Everett to
Count Hatzfeldt.
Legation of the United States,
Berlin, February 25,
1882.
The undersigned, chargé d’affaires ad interim of
the United States of America, has the honor, by direction of his
government, to call the attention of his excellency
[Page 159]
Count Hatzfeldt, provisional secretary of
state for foreign affairs, to the subject of customs duties on articles
of food from the United States coming into Germany.
The undersigned would respectfully represent to his excellency that the
American Government is informed by the reports of its consuls as well as
by the complaints of individual exporters, that articles of food, such
as beef in cans, hams in cloth covers, and salt fish in wooden boxes,
are not allowed by Germany to pay duties, as in other countries, under
the class of imports to which they belong, but are taxed by weight under
the class of material of which the boxes in which they are packed are
made. For instance, canned beef, instead of paying a duty of 12 marks
per 100 R—according to No. 25 g, 1, of the
official tariff of July 15, 1879, is taxed at 24 marks per 100 R—as
ironware under No. 6, e, 3, B, because it is
packed in tinned iron cans, and iron bears a higher rate of duty than
beef. Likewise dried salt fish, instead of coming in as fish, because it
is packed in wooden boxes like Swedish matches, pays as wood, a much higher duty. It further appears that
if the cans have no labels, the lower duty on beef is charged.
The undersigned, after a careful study of the tariff laws, fails to
understand such an interpretation of them by the officers of customs,
especially, as by a treasury order of the 23d January, 1882, Mr. Krüger,
a collector at Altona, is informed that the nature of the covering is
not to affect the duty rate of goods. Notwithstanding this order, the
legation is informed that at Hamburg, American beef is still taxed as
ironware because the iron cans are packed, simply for the purpose of
transportation, in large wooden cases. It is surely superfluous,
however, to remark that the beef is the only really dutiable article in
this instance, as it is shipped as beef in invoices and bills of lading,
and sold as beef both wholesale and retail, sometimes even without the
cans, by the slice.
The undersigned trusts that the imperial finance ministry will, when
their attention is called to it, see the injustice of taxing these
nourishing and cheap articles of food under the class of material which
does not in any way enter into their composition, and only serves to
protect them during transportation, just as the ship protects them on
the sea, or the railway wagon on land.
It would also appear to be an error to tax them, as so much weight of iron or wood, as the principal weight
is not in the iron cases, but in the beef. Therefore, if the iron and
wood must be taxed, it would seem to be more correct to tax them by
their own weight separate from the beef or fish, and in addition to the
tax on the beef or fish taken by themselves, which latter could even be
increased if necessary.
The undersigned, in the hope that his excellency will give this matter
his early attention, and endeavor to meet the apparently reasonable
complaint of the importers, avails himself of this occasion to renew to
his excellency the assurances of his most distinguished
consideration.
[Inclosure 2 in No.
308.—Translation.]
Dr. Busch to Mr.
Everett.
Foreign
Office,
Berlin,
March 22, 1882.
The undersigned has the honor to inform Mr. H. Sidney Everett, charge
d’affaires of the United States of America, in reply to the esteemed
note of the 24th ultimo, concerning a consignment of American pork which
has been detained at Altona, that the prohibition of June 25, 1880, is
still in force and is especially applicable to prepared pigs’
tongues.
After a careful examination, in the proper quarter, of the facts in the
case, it has not been considered feasible to make an exception to the
existing prohibition in favor of the large consignment of pigs’ tongues
and the preparation known as “brawn” referred to in the esteemed
note.
The undersigned avails, &c.,