Table 21.-Principal Commodities Imported Into the United States 1,042 193 378 481 Magnesite, dead burned and grain--1,000 lb. 25, 039 4, 786 17, 880❘ 6, 471 Buttons. Band and orchestra instruments. Pencils, crayons, etc.. All other.. 1 Not shown separately. 589 311 Ton of 2,240 pounds in 1929 and 1932; ton of 2,000 pounds, air-dry weight, in 1937 and 1938. FRANCE In terms of dollars, there was a decrease of trade in both directions between the United States and France in 1938 as compared with 1937. Exports to France dropped from $164,528,000 in 1937 to $133,872,000 in 1938, and imports fell from $75,609,000 in 1937 to $54,009,000 in 1938. The export total was higher than the 1936 figure, but imports were smaller than in 1936. In terms of French francs, trade both ways increased from 1937 to 1938 owing to the decline in the exchange value of the franc from an average of 4 cents in 1937 to 2.8 cents in 1938. A decline in a country's currency tends normally to reduce its imports (as they become more expensive) and to expand exports-for which fewer units of unaltered foreign currencies are required. In the interchange of products with France, however, a number of special factors make it difficult to appraise the results of the depreciation of the franc. Wholesale prices moved up rather rapidly in France, and this tended to offset in a measure the lower currency valuation. The business recession in the United States which reduced the demands for all imports was particularly important; and, on the export side, the very heavy inventories which were accumulated in France in 1937 tended to reduce demands in 1938-that is, some of the large increase in exports to France in 1937 was, in effect, advance business for 1938. Figures by volume are frequently a more dependable measure of trade movements than those by value when a currency is devalued. The value of passenger automobiles exported to France in 1938 was 27 percent less than the 1937 figure, but the quantity figure in table 22 shows that the volume declined only 12 percent. Yet this quantity figure does not indicate whether the same grade or quality of goods was bought. The unit value of the 1937 automobile exports to France was $815, and that of 1938 cars was $670. The statistics by price groups, not shown in the table, indicate that there was a very definite shift to cars in the lower-price group. Exports of passenger cars to France valued at not more than $850 increased from 1,117 in 1937 to 1,180 in 1938, while the aggregate value decreased about 2 percent. The number and value of cars in the $850 to $1,200 class were reduced more than 40 percent, whereas those over $1,200 declined in number from 118 to 22 and in value from $241,262 to $41,734. Neither value nor volume comparisons of trade with France in 1937 and 1938 reveal the operation of one of the most important factors in that trade; that is, the degree to which the volume of exports to France represented merely the filling of the portion of the demand permitted under the French quota system. In 1938 there were several shifts in the relative importance of goods exported to France-crude petroleum displacing raw cotton in first place, automobiles and copper remaining third and fourth in order of importance, and gasoline and metalworking machinery ranking fifth and sixth, as against seventh and fifth, respectively, in 1937, Among imports from France, textiles, cigarette paper, brandy, and sparkling wines were again the leaders. Table 22.-Principal Commodities in Trade of the United States With France NOTE. Data for individual export items include only United States products. Import commodities are "general imports" in 1929 and 1932 and "imports for consumption" in 1937 and 1938. Table 22.-Principal Commodities in Trade of the United States With France Continued 'Not shown separately. 4 Less than 500. 3 Household refrigerators only. 2 Figures for 1929 and 1932 have not been adjusted for minor transfers in classifications of later years. GERMANY According to the United States statistics in table 23, exports to Germany decreased from $126,343,000 in 1937 to $107,130,000 in 1938, while our imports from that country dropped from $92,468,000 to $64,550,000. Approximately 28 percent of the imported merchandise entered the country free of duty in 1938, while 72 percent was subject to duty. The export balance, amounting to $42,580,000 in 1938, was the largest in trade with Germany since 1933. Germany took 3.5 percent of the total exports of the United States and supplied 3.4 percent of total imports in 1938. The share of Germany in both the export trade and the import trade of the United States has been declining over a long period of D.D.9148 1901-1905 1906-1910 1911-1915 1916-1920 1921-1925 1926-1930 1931-1935 1936-1940 years. As against the 3.5 percent in 1938, exports to Germany in the years immediately preceding the World War were 14 percent of total United States exports and during the period 1921-33 from 7 to 10 percent of the total. Germany supplied approximately 10 percent of our total imports prior to the World War and a maximum of 6 percent in the years 1929, 1930, and 1931 of the post-war period, in comparison with 3.4 percent in 1938. The radical change that has taken place in Germany's economic system under its policy of strictly controlled economy has greatly influenced trade between the United States and Germany. As a result of the difficulty Germany has had to obtain sufficient foreign exchange to meet all payments to foreigners and because of the German Government's determined efforts to restrict imports to essential products and to balance its import and export trade with each country, that market has been difficult of access to practically all United States goods. The United States Government has not participated in German trade through compensation and clearing agreements, barter transactions, and similar arrangements of that Government, although certain barter transactions have been nego |