TRADE WITH NORTHERN NORTH AMERICA Exports to Canada and other Northern North American areas decreased considerably in 1938 after 4 successive years of expansion. They amounted to nearly $427,000,000, or 16 percent less than the total in 1937, after omission of the grain which was reported as exported to Canada but which was actually destined to Europe. The reported total of $475,572,000 for our exports to Northern North America in 1938 included grain valued at nearly $50,000,000, its ultimate destination not having been known at the time of shipment. In no other recent year since the late 1920's had such grain shipments been an appreciable item in the trade figures. Exports of merchandise (exclusive of grain) to Northern North America in 1938 were 14 percent of United States total exports, as compared with 17 percent in 1929, 13 percent in 1932, and 15 percent in 1937. The value of imports from Northern North America was equivalent to 46 percent of the value of total trade with the area in 1938-a smaller proportion than in the immediately preceding years but a larger proportion than in the late 1920's. This percentage is based on a value of approximately $357,000,000 for imports of merchandise, including gold and silver,1 and of $427,000,000 for exports, exclusive Table 2.-Trade With Northern North America, by Countries 1929 1932 1938 1929 1932 1938 1929 1932 1937 1929 1932 1937 Newfoundland and Labrador.. Northern North America.. 17.4 15.0 13. 8 11.7 13.7 13.6-53.2 +76. 2 -15.6 -48.0 +-47.5 -34.3 Canada... 17.2 14.8 13.5 11.4 13.2 13.3 -53.4 +76.2-15.5-48.3 +49.4 -34.7 2 .3 2 .2 .5 .3-38.6 +84.1-19.7 -36.8 -7.7 -21.4 1 Less than $50,000. Exports are adjusted to exclude grain shipped to Europe via Canada while imports are adjusted to include gold and silver. 3 Based on adjusted figures. 4 Based on merchandise figures. 1 From the standpoint of Canada, a large gold producer, exports of these metals partake of the nature of merchandise trade. of grain. On this adjusted basis, imports were more than half the total trade during the 4 years immediately preceding 1938, whereas they were less than 40 percent of the trade in 1929. The value of merchandise trade as reported, of exports adjusted to exclude grain shipments, and of imports adjusted to include gold and silver are shown in table 2. CANADA Approximately 98 percent of our trade with Northern North America is with Canada, which ranks first among all the countries of the world as a source of United States imports and second as a market for our exports. Table 3 shows reported exports to Canada, as well as exports adjusted to omit grain shipments (most of which are intended for Europe). It also shows merchandise imports from Canada and imports of gold and silver. Adjusted exports (including reexports) to Canada in 1938 reached a total value of $418,948,000, 16 percent less than in 1937. Important 30 GENERAL IMPORTS 1901-1905 1906-1910 |1911-1915 |1916-1920|1921-1925 1926-1930 1931-1935 1936-19401 Figure 2.-Trade of the United States with Canada. D.D. 8961 declines were recorded for crude materials (especially cotton and coal), for iron and steel products, and for various manufactured articles. As a class, however, finished manufactures decreased less than the other items and were, therefore, an increased proportion of the total exports (exclusive of grain) to Canada in 1938. The 1938 figure for this class was 53 percent, as compared with 50 percent in 1937 and 51 percent in 1929. The decreases in the trade during 1938 reflected mainly the restrictive effect of the downward trend in Canadian income and business activity during 1938. The increase in grain shipments routed overseas via Canadian ports during 1938 is accounted for by the changes in the volume of agricultural production of the United States in the past few years. As a result of favorable weather and the large crops of 1937 and 1938, in contrast with the drought-shortened harvests of 1936, the import movement of grain and feeds was replaced by an export movement late in 1937 and in 1938. The large imports of cattle in 1936 and 1937, induced mainly by high prices in the United States, dropped off by more than half in 1938. Imports of pork and hogs showed also a downward trend in 1938 from the higher figures of the immediately preceding years. The decrease in United States imports of Canadian agricultural products from $394,241,000 in 1937 to $256,647,000 in 1938 accounted for at least two-fifths of the decline in total imports (for consumption) from Canada. Moreover, imports of nickel, abrasives, and asbestos, which recede and advance with changes in industrial activity in the United States, were 40 to 50 percent smaller in 1938 than in 1937. The decrease was also marked in imports of Canadian whisky in 1938from over 7,000,000 proof gallons in both 1936 and 1937 to approximately 3,500,000 proof gallons in 1938. This change resulted partly from the decrease in domestic consumption of liquors in 1938 and partly from the depletion of aged whisky in Canada and a simultaneous increase in the supply of aged brands in the United States. Over half of United States imports from Canada in 1938 consisted of paper, paper materials, and wood products the largest proportion for any year since 1932. This change is accounted for by the decrease in the importance of agricultural products and whisky in the trade. During the years intervening between 1932 and 1938 whisky imports were stimulated by the repeal of prohibition in the United States and the reduction in duty beginning in January 1936, while agricultural imports expanded as a result of the droughts of 1934 and 1936. While our imports of wood and paper decreased in quantity during 1938 as compared with 1937, the change was less marked than were the changes in these other commodities; and the decrease in value was modified as a result of the advanced prices in 1938. A development of the year was the revision in November of the trade agreement between the United States and Canada, the provisions of which became effective January 1, 1939. Statistics relating to the trade and the tariffs of the two countries, an analysis of this agreement, and a complete list of individual concessions may be found in a bulletin prepared by the United States Tariff Commission under the title "Second Trade Agreement Between the United States and Canada: Volume I. Introduction." |