Total values of merchandise imported from and exported
to each of the principal countries during December,
1917, and the 12 months ended December, 1917, compared
with corresponding periods of the preceding year, were
made public to-day by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic
Commerce of the Department of Commerce, as follows:
-----------------+-----------------------+---------------------------
| Month of December— | 12 months ended December—
Imports from— +-----------+-----------+-------------+-------------
| 1917 | 1916 | 1917 | 1916
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-------------+-------------
Grand divisions: | | | |
Europe |$40,617,322|$59,107,818| $551,144,599| $633,316,886
North America | 56,506,340| 47,686,900| 871,982,524| 658,438,120
South America | 49,669,439| 43,786,488| 598,818,532| 427,609,562
Asia | 62,142,195| 45,422,209| 758,237,165| 516,704,047
Oceania | 12,792,804| 4,827,542| 99,221,196| 93,673,382
Africa | 6,183,397| 4,003,231| 73,063,939| 61,893,338
+-----------+-----------+------------+-------------
Total |227,911,497|204,834,188|2,952,467,955|2,391,635,335
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-------------+-------------
Principal | | | |
countries: | | | |
Austria-Hungary| .... | 27,980| 64,937| 631,251
Belgium | .... | 156,835| 158,022| 1,479,342
France | 8,662,632| 10,488,210| 98,639,653| 108,893,119
Germany | 451| 138,269| 159,352| 5,819,472
Italy | 3,219,301| 4,789,202| 36,480,807| 60,235,172
Netherlands | 747,674| 3,689,940| 22,744,504| 43,602,076
Norway | 261,481| 844,802| 6,280,233| 6,430,316
Russia | | | |
in Europe | 2,661,145| 83,848| 12,350,179| 4,478,990
Spain | 3,496,232| 3,675,167| 36,881,630| 32,577,377
Sweden | 329,403| 5,505,941| 18,069,487| 18,856,638
Switzerland | 1,826,252| 1,927,928| 19,834,668| 22,414,383
United Kingdom | 16,874,793| 25,765,390| 280,080,175| 305,486,952
Canada | 36,232,364| 23,753,953| 413,674,846| 237,249,040
Mexico | 9,858,406| 10,399,693| 130,434,722| 105,065,780
Cuba | 5,053,741| 9,108,597| 248,598,199| 243,728,770
Argentina | 17,560,443| 12,509,181| 178,245,833| 116,292,647
Brazil | 8,233,119| 14,286,609| 145,274,931| 132,067,378
Chile | 13,618,362| 5,914,498| 142,597,929| 82,123,995
China | 8,402,995| 6,352,337| 125,106,020| 80,041,851
British East | | | |
Indies | 20,992,304| 17,138,997| 259,629,897| 201,190,844
Japan | 23,692,557| 17,268,621| 253,669,709| 182,090,737
Australia and | | | |
New Zealand | 7,403,284 | 1,682,769| 32,002,203| 55,826,228
Philippine | | | |
Islands | 4,633,395 | 2,718,912| 62,386,641| 34,162,081
Egypt | .... | 2,944,041| 27,352,444| 29,533,795
-----------------+-----------+-----------+-------------+-------------
It will be seen from this table that our commodity trade balance with
Spain was in our favor by fifty-five million, five hundred eighty-seven
thousand, six hundred and ninety dollars. Therefore, Spain needed
fifty-five million dollars more than was due her on the difference
of shipments to Spain from the United States of commodities, and the
shipment of commodities by Spain to the United States. Why, then, was
not the dollar at a premium instead of the Spanish peseta being at a
premium? The reason was that the United States had loaned to her Allies
two billion dollars more than the favorable “trade balance” of the
United States, and these loans in terms of dollars had been used by our
Allies to settle their debts with Spain, as an international commodity
trade creditor to an approximate amount of over a hundred million of
dollars in value, who did not need these dollars, or pounds sterling,
or francs. The Spanish banks did place substantial balances in Paris,
London and New York, but there was still due to Spain for commodities a
large amount which had to be settled in some way. Great Britain, France
and the United States had an embargo on gold and we could not settle
these balances by gold because of the gold embargo. If we had settled
the balances in gold the dollar would have gone to par and so would
have the pound sterling and the French franc, but we were compelled,
because gold was not available, to borrow this money from Spain in some
form or other, and it was borrowed in some form or other from Spanish
merchants, business men, and Spanish banks in many ways, but those who
borrowed the pesetas from Spain, or those who loaned our people the
pesetas in Spain, sold those pesetas to the citizens of the United
States at a tremendous price. The credit extended is taking advantage
of war conditions to extort an unendurable price for the use of this
Spanish credit during the war, and fully justifies adequate steps being
taken to correct it.