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Old 30th Jul 2022, 12:34 pm   #1
Valvepower
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Default Controls on the import of American electrical goods in the 50's

Hello,

I’m just doing some research into the evolution of the Guitar amplifier and I’m going as far back as the mid 1950’s and very early 60’s.

From what I remember from folklore stories told to me by the folk who were active in the musical industry at the time and info I've generally unearthed, there were controls spanning the early 50’s to the very end of the 50’s on the import of American goods like musical Instruments, amplifiers, radio, and TV etc.?

Was this a total ban on imports or were there large probative import duties being levied on equipment to discourage their importation?

Fender and other American equipment were still expensive, even after the lifting of restrictions at the very end of the 50’s. I suppose apart from the shipping costs, were there still draconian import duties still being levied?

There is the story of Cliff Richard in the late 50’s personally importing through the back door – so to speak – a Fender guitar for Hank Marvin.

Regards
Terry
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Old 30th Jul 2022, 12:47 pm   #2
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Default Re: Controls on the import of American electrical goods in the 50's

I don’t know how much import duties were but they would have to add Purchase Tax to the cost of the item. P/T at 30-60% of wholesale price would perhaps make it uneconomic with added import duties and shipping whatever they were.
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Old 30th Jul 2022, 8:39 pm   #3
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Default Re: Controls on the import of American electrical goods in the 50's

How true this is I don’t know it probably is. This is what I was told
Some manufacturers would import just the parts and then assemble into complete units in Northern Ireland. Being import duties on parts were very low ,if any.
Maybe some other member can confirm if this is correct Andy
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Old 30th Jul 2022, 9:02 pm   #4
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Default Re: Controls on the import of American electrical goods in the 50's

My Tektronix 535A is marked "Tektronix Guernsey Ltd, C. I". I was told, at a time when I never dreamt I could ever afford one, that this was for taxation reasons.

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Old 30th Jul 2022, 9:18 pm   #5
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Default Re: Controls on the import of American electrical goods in the 50's

More here: https://vintagetek.org/tek-guernsey-2/ and here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3u5_a1GElU (Pity the video quality is poor) - there is some reference to tax considerations in the commentary. And this article https://vintagetek.org/guernsey/ states that Tektronix closed the Guernsey plant in 1990, moving production to the Netherlands.

Other web articles can be obtained.

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Old 30th Jul 2022, 10:08 pm   #6
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Default Re: Controls on the import of American electrical goods in the 50's

I was told by an older work colleague that Grundig used to import tape recorders that had had a capacitor connected across the audio input socket to kill the frequency response so that they only attracted the import duty applicable to dictating machines. After arrival in in the UK, the capacitors were removed, turning them back into tape recorders.

There was the added complication of having to get permission from the Bank of England to send sterling abroad to pay for something you wanted to import. In the early 1970's I took out a subscription for an American science fiction magazine that I had sometimes had problems getting from my newsagent. I had to give the order form to my bank, who then forwarded it to the Bank of England for authorisation. Once granted, my bank obtained a cheque drawn on a US bank from their branch in London, and gave it to me that I then posted to the magazine's publishers in thr US.

Likewise, before travelling abroad, you had to take your passport to your bank to request foreign currency and travellers' cheques for them to get autorisation from the B of E. Your bank would mark the amount issued in the back of your passport, and there were strict limits on the amount you could take out of the country.

This procedure lasted until around 1978 (not sure of the exact date) when the government suddenly decided to abolish exchange controls. My cousin and her best friend were due to leave school shortly after it happened. Both my cousin and her friend had managed to get jobs with the Bank of England, my cousin in the personell department, her friend in the foreign exchange department. Foreign exchange control was abolished shortly before they left school, and the friend found herself out of a job before she had had a chance to start it, as the section she was to have worked in, no longer existed.

Last edited by emeritus; 30th Jul 2022 at 10:20 pm. Reason: typos
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Old 31st Jul 2022, 12:43 am   #7
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Default Re: Controls on the import of American electrical goods in the 50's

Didn't a radio etc have to have a loudspeaker to attract PT and bizarrely even when one was present its size didn't matter, but its shape did

discussed at the end of this thread.

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...=104217&page=2
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Old 31st Jul 2022, 12:18 pm   #8
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Default Re: Controls on the import of American electrical goods in the 50's

Earlier on Philco & some other American manufacturers managed to get around import taxes by shipping over bare radio chassis with no valves, which would be fitted with a British made case & valves on arrival.
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Old 31st Jul 2022, 3:48 pm   #9
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Default Re: Controls on the import of American electrical goods in the 50's

The whole purchase tax thing in the 50s/60s/70s was crazy: radios attracted a low rate of purchase tax but radiograms were seen as 'luxury' items so incurred a much higher purchase tax. Hence you could buy a radiogram without the turntable fitted, so it only incurred the lower rate of purchase tax,
But it came with the cutout in the plinth to take a turntable, which your dealer would happily fit for you.

'Communications' receivers - fitted with a beat frequency oscillator, were also subject to a lower purchase tax than 'entertainment' radios..
Eddystone fell foul of this workaround because some of their supposed 'communications' receivers had good quality internal loudspeakers so worked well as broadcast receivers
..
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Old 31st Jul 2022, 9:17 pm   #10
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Default Re: Controls on the import of American electrical goods in the 50's

I think a lot of people here are losing sight of a very important matter. The UK was BUST, FLAT BROKE after the 2nd World War with millions in hock to the US for lease lend etc. The debt only finally paid off a very few years ago.
Post war there were many ex Service M/Cs available. Thank goodness, as NEW ones were all destined for export, mainly to the US
The expression in use was "Export or die", and it could well be needed again now!
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Old 31st Jul 2022, 9:36 pm   #11
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Default Re: Controls on the import of American electrical goods in the 50's

Hi,

Many thanks for all the replies – its really appreciated.

Ah, I can see how the taxation and import controls could have shaped the evolution of home-grown products.

As far as I know Marshall amplification came about copying expensive American equipment for local musicians who wanted something cheaper. However British ingenuity took these designs and they bloomed into something special.

Marshall amplification went on to be a strong Exporter of equipment and gained the Queen's Award for Export in the early 80's.

Terry
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