Story: Customs and tariffs

By the late 1990s the abolition of import controls and the phasing out of most duties had led to a flood of cheaper imports, especially from China. This seriously threatened the jobs of workers in New Zealand industries previously protected by duties and import controls. Here Jenny Sargent (left) and Xhou Jie Xia, a migrant from Canton in China, work hard to keep up production at the L. R. Wishart’s shirt factory in Levin.