land-took 4 percent of total exports from the United States in 1938, as compared with less than 3 percent in 1928 and 1929 and 3.5 percent in 1937. They purchased United States merchandise to the value of nearly $124,000,000 in 1938. United States exports to both Norway and Sweden in 1938 were larger in value than the average for the years 1928 and 1929; but those to Finland were lower by more than one-fourth and those to Denmark were down nearly one-half in comparison with the earlier period.

Norway, Sweden, and Finland have not resorted in recent years to strict governmental control of foreign trade through exchange regulations, quota systems, or other means of import restriction as have many other European countries. Under the trade agreement

DD 2455

1901-1905 1906-1910 | 1911-1915 | 1916-1920 | 1921 – 1925 | 1926–1930| 1931–1935 1936-1940
Figure 20.-Trade of the United States With Sweden.

in effect between the United States and Sweden since August 1935, concessions were accorded by each country on various products. While the present high level of our trade is due in large part to the favorable economic conditions in these three countries, it reflects also the beneficial character of a relatively unhampered flow of goods. The Danish Government, which has for some years been closely regulating imports and diverting them to countries affording the largest markets for Danish agricultural products (especially to the United Kingdom and Germany), removed in 1938 the import-permit restrictions from many foodstuffs and raw materials.

The United States statistics of exports in this report are to be considered as somewhat understating the trade with this area, in view of the fact that a considerable amount of United States goods is purchased indirectly. The import statistics of these several countries consistently show a larger value of imports of United States goods than appears in the United States export statistics a variance which is due only in part to the difference in the basis of valuation. The statistics of each country are given in the Foreign Commerce Yearbook, published by the United States Department of Commerce.

United States imports from these four countries were, likewise, a larger proportion of the total imports into the United States in 1938 than in the late 1920's. Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland together provided goods valued at $82,000,000, or more than 4 percent of our total imports in 1938. In both 1928 and 1929 these countries supplied 2 percent of our total imports, and in 1937 they supplied 3.5 percent. While the value of total imports from the area was one-fourth smaller in 1938 than in 1937, the 1938 total was only 4 percent under the average value in the years 1928 and 1929. Export Commodities.

The principal United States products exported directly to each of the "Northern Countries" are machinery and automobiles. These

items, comprising roughly a third of the total United States exports to the area in 1938, showed a slight increase in value as compared with 1937.

United

With the increase in motor-vehicle transportation in the area, States exports of gasoline and other motor fuel have grown substantially in recent years. The exports of petroleum and petroleum products in 1938 to three of the countries showed marked increases as compared with 1937, and to the fourth were only slightly under that year's high figure.

Exports of vegetable foodstuffs to each country of this area increased substantially in 1938. The United States supplied a larger proportion of each country's grain imports in 1938 than in several of the preceding years and also increased amounts of fruits.

The principal class of United States exports which showed declines in 1938 was metals and metal manufactures. These countries always import a considerable amount of the common grades of steel, usually from the United Kingdom and Germany. In 1937, with the European.

suppliers occupied in armament programs, the United States furnished an unusual proportion of the steel imports of the area. Our participation declined as the European suppliers were again in position to provide their normal export markets in 1938. Sweden, the principal market of the group for steel, is not only an importing country but also exports considerable amounts of high-quality steel.

Wood pulp and paper comprise a relatively large proportion of United States imports from three of these four countries. Fourfifths of total imports from Sweden, nine-tenths of the imports from Finland, and over one-fourth of the imports from Norway, are paper materials and paper. Imports of these products from each of these countries were smaller in quantity in 1938 than in 1937. The reduction was influenced by the recession in business activity in the United States during the early part of the year, when imports of pulp and paper from all supplying countries were reduced in volume. Next most important among the imports from Sweden are ores and metals, and these are also a substantial item in our imports from Norway. The percentage decrease in the value of imports of metals in 1938 was larger than that in the value of wood pulp and paper. Fish and fish oil, imported chiefly from Norway, also dropped considerably below the 1937 total in 1938.

Imports from Denmark consist largely of vegetable oils, meats, dairy products, and other agricultural items. Because of droughtshortened supplies of foodstuffs in the United States in 1937, these imports increased greatly in that year. In 1938, as our domestic supplies increased, some of these imports fell off sharply; imports of vegetable oils and barley malt dropped to negligible figures. Imports of canned hams, however, reached a slightly larger figure in 1938 than in 1937, while cheese imports decreased rather moderately.

Table 27.-Principal Commodities in Trade of the United States With Sweden 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 27.-Principal Commodities in Trade of the United States With Sweden

Continued

2 Not shown separately.

Figures for 1929 and 1932 have not been adjusted for minor transfers in classifications of later years. 4 Household refrigerators only. Ton of 2,240 pounds in 1929 and 1932; ton of 2,000 pounds, air-dry weight, in 1937 and 1938.

Table 28.-Principal Commodities in Trade of the United States With Norway NOTE. Data for individual export items include only United States products. Import commodities are "general imports" in 1929 and 1932; "imports for consumption" in 1937 and 1938.