RHA gets 'join us i plea
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AN APPEAL for the Road Haulage Association to join with the Freight Transport Association in opposing the continued publication of EEC reference tariffs for haulage rates may be stillborn.
The proposal, made by the ETA's international department last week, is in line with the ETA's long-standing belief that the tariffs are a waste of time and money as they bear little, ii any relation to the movement in costs, fail to take account of currency fluctuations, and bear little relation to the market price.
It says a new EEC Regulation, 3568/83, has left the door open for an end to reference tariffs, which are a retrospective guide to the going rate for the haulage of freight between member states.
The Regulation states thal "the obligation to fix reference tariffs for transport markets may be waived."
FTA transport user services director Jack Welsh has written to RHA international officer Bob Duffy, asking for a joint submission to the Department of Trans. port seeking the removal ol reference tariffs between Britair and EEC member states.
He said that this could be justified on the basis that Britain's share of total intra-EEC trade, when viewed in terms of trade with any individual state, is ol minor importance.
While Mr Duffy has not rejected the FTA overture, he IE saying nothing to indicate thal the RHA would press for an early end to the tariffs.
He said this week that the RHA's international committee would need to study the proposal in detail to see whether ii would depart from its existing, policy which is to press the EEC for the replacement of the existing bilateral tariffs with one-way tariffs.
Such a change, if agreed would mean that tariffs foi Britain-West Germany traffic, foi instance, would be relatec directly to the costs incurred by British hauliers running to Germany. At present, the bilatera rates are influenced by the costs of operators in both states hence their largely academic interest.