Sir Robert Wingate to Angell, October 27, 1880
Mr. Wingate to Mr. Angell.
No. 9.]
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch No. 6, of the 11th instant, making inquires regarding comparative dues and duties levied upon American ships and their cargoes.
Foreign vessels of all nationalities, and Chinese vessels with foreign rig, so far as relates to tonnage dues, and import and export duties, are, I understand, treated precisely alike at this port, and so far as relates to them, I answer all your interrogatories in the negative.
The customs collect no tonnage dues from junks, but they are subject to certain exactions called, “squeezes,” from the native customs. Junks from foreign ports, as Singapore or Hong-Kong have to pay for entry. For this there is no known fixed rate, it depending somewhat upon the influence of the owners or supercargoes.
But the sum exacted is reported to be in excess of that collected from foreign vessels, so that it is for the interest of the merchant to import most articles of foreign manufacture in foreign or foreign rigged vessels. Junks have some advantage in visiting non-treaty ports. They are placed at a disadvantage in some other respects; they pay higher export duty on poles, and they are not allowed to export certain articles to foreign countries.
Citizens of the United States have equal advantages with Chinese subjects, or citizens or subjects of the most favored nations, in importing and exporting merchandise, except as may be noted in my remarks relating to junks.
I am, &c.,