Table 14.-Principal Commodities in Trade of the United States With Colombia—

Continued

Quantity

Value (1,000 dollars)

Commodity

ne pipe mining

1 Figures for 1929 and 1932 have not been adjusted for minor transfers in classifications of later years.

ECUADOR

As a result of reductions in shipments of various commodities, the value of total exports from the United States to Ecuador dropped 34 percent from $5,052,000 in 1937 to $3,311,000 in 1938. Influenced mainly by the expansion in mineral and petroleum production in Ecuador, United States exports to that country in 1937 reached the highest value since 1929; while in 1938 the trade movement followed the trend in United States trade with the world. Among the various commodities in the trade, only lard and flour showed noteworthy increases in quantity during 1938. A trade agreement between the United States and Ecuador became effective October 23, 1938.

Principal exports to Ecuador in 1938, with 1937 figures in parentheses, were: Machinery and vehicles valued at $1,185,000 ($1,840,000 in 1937), of which industrial machinery represented $465,000 ($700,000) and automobile parts and accessories $329,000 ($611,000); wheat flour, 104,882 barrels at $428,055 (103,967 barrels, $580,000); metals and manufactures, $403,000 ($637,000); chemicals and related products, $273,000 ($322,000); petroleum and products, $202,000 ($337,000); lard, 948,687 pounds at $88,952 (287,510 pounds, $37,713); and cotton cloth, duck, and tire fabric, 358,320 square yards at $36,130 (2,020,103 square yards, $208,434).

Imports (for consumption) amounting to $2,570,000 decreased 35 percent, as compared with the total of $3,964,000 in 1937, primarily on account of reductions in shipments of cacao, coffee, straw hats, and vegetable ivory. The quantity and value of principal imports in 1938, with 1937 figures in parentheses, were, respectively: Bananas, 1,160,000 bunches valued at $785,000 (1,079,000 bunches, $739,000); cacao, 8,439,000 pounds at $540,000 (12,612,000 pounds, $1,042,000); coffee, 9,033,000 pounds at $426,000 (13,047,000 pounds, $943,000); straw hats, 518,000 units at $310,000 (887,000, $575,000); hardwood lumber, 4,573,000 board feet, at $139,000 (3,357,000 board feet, $102,000); and vegetable ivory, 8,597,000 pounds, $124,000 (11,962,000 pounds, $299,000).

THE GUIANAS

Both the export and the import trade of the United States with the Guianas declined slightly in value in 1938-exports from $2,032,000 in 1937 to $1,911,000 and imports from $3,868,000 to $3,658,000. The drop in exports to British Guiana from $1,061,000 to $1,025,000 and to French Guiana from $282,000 to $119,000 was not entirely offset by the increase in exports to Surinam (Netherlands Guiana) from $689,000 to $767,000. Imports (for consumption) from Surinam also increased from $3,035,000 in 1937 to $3,055,020 in 1938-but imports from British Guiana declined from $748,000 to $567,000 and those from French Guiana were down from $85,000 to $36,000.

Shipments from the United States to each of the Guianas consist, for the most part, of numerous manufactured articles, among which wheat flour to Surinam leads in importance. This item aggregated 29,810 barrels valued at $139,713 in 1938, as compared with 24,417 barrels at $143,440 in 1937. The respective values of principal groups of exports to the area in 1938 were: Machinery and vehicles, $509,000

($659,000 in 1937); vegetable food products, $276,000 ($367,000 in 1937); chemicals and related products, $205,000 ($213,000 in 1937); nonmetallic minerals (mainly petroleum products) $179,000 ($149,000 in 1937); metals and manufactures, $166,000 ($145,000 in 1937); and wood and paper, $139,000 ($139,000 in 1937).

Imports of crude bauxite from British and Netherlands Guiana decreased to 446,800 tons valued at $3,481,000 in 1938 from 481,373 tons valued at $3,499,000 in 1937.

PARAGUAY

United States exports to Paraguay decreased from $743,000 in 1937 to $644,000 in 1938. There were declines in all principal commodity exports—namely, automobiles, including parts and accessories, from $218,000 to $152,000; machinery and electrical apparatus, from $196,000 to $193,000; and metals and manufactures, from $133,000 to $56,000. Exports of all other articles, as a group, increased from $196,000 to $243,000.

The increase in the value of imports (for consumption) from Paraguay from $1,089,000 in 1937 to $1,277,000 in 1938 is mainly accounted for by larger shipments of meats. Imports of meats (principally canned beef) amounted to 4,271,000 pounds valued at $413,000 in 1938, as compared with 2,100,000 pounds at $180,000 in 1937. Imports of petit-grain oil were 86,805 pounds at $64,764 and 64,879 pounds at $52,117 in the two years, respectively. Imports of quebracho extract decreased from 26,061,000 pounds valued at $841,000 in 1937 to 22,247,000 pounds at $731,000 in 1938.

Because Paraguay has no seaport, a considerable amount of United States merchandise is imported into that country indirectly; and, similarly, the United States receives Paraguayan goods indirectly. For this reason, the United States statistics neither of exports nor of imports, quoted above, are to be considered entirely complete-even though our import statistics credit goods to the "country of origin," as far as ascertainable, since January 1, 1937.

PERU

The decline of 11 percent in United States exports to Peru in 1938 from the higher figure attained in 1937 is largely accounted for by smaller shipments of wheat, railroad ties, iron and steel, aircraft, passenger automobiles, and motortrucks. The largest percentage decline was in wheat, as the large domestic crop and Peru's small yield led to unusually large exports in 1937. Among the other exports in table 15, construction and conveying machinery, dynamite, and well and refinery machinery showed increases in 1938; while the figures for various other items, including mining and quarrying machinery, varied only slightly in value as between 1937 and 1938.

The high figures for machinery and certain other exports during 1938 are attributable to the activity in the petroleum and mining industries in Peru and to the heavy expenditures of the Peruvian Government for public works. The economic situation in Peru, particularly with regard to agriculture, was generally less favorable in 1938 than in 1937, owing to the lower level of world prices for agricultural products.

Imports of merchandise from Peru declined about 17 percent in value in 1938, largely as a result of the lower price of copper and a reduction in our purchases of mohair and goat and kid skins as compared with 1937. United States imports of Peruvian gold and silver, which are not included in the merchandise figures shown in table 15, increased, however, from $9,902,000 in 1937 to $11,418,000 in 1938.

Table 15.-Principal Commodities in Trade of the United States With Peru 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.

Cotton manufactures, including yarns, ex

Automobile tires (casings).....number. 15, 178 7,007 13, 491 14,879

231

1

8

43

58

69

63

628

33

93

104

420

399

236

251

278 2, 258

2,666

320

600

Table 15.-Principal Commodities in Trade of the United States With Peru-Con.

1 Figures for 1929 and 1932 have not been adjusted for minor transfers in classifications of later years. Less than 500.

URUGUAY

United States trade with Uruguay decreased more than three-fifths in 1938 as compared with 1937. The value of general imports dropped slightly below the export total, whereas there had been an import balance in the trade during each year from 1934 through 1937.

Practically all principal commodities were exported in decidedly smaller quantities and values in 1938, particularly as compared with 1937 but also with reference to other recent years. Automobile exports were less than a fifth as large in value as in 1937, and exports of electrical apparatus were barely one-fourth as large. Nevertheless, the group of machinery, automobiles, and electrical apparatus comprised, as usual, nearly one-half of the 1938 total. An unusually sharp decrease occurred in the exports of cotton yarns and fabrics, which, after reaching a value of $374,000 in 1937, dropped off to less than $12,000 in 1938.

The decrease in the value of imports from Uruguay was due primarily to smaller purchases of wool during 1938 and the decline in wool prices. Imports of Uruguayan canned meats were also smaller in quantity and in value than in 1937. Imports of flaxseed, which is not usually a large item in the trade, totaled 892,000 bushels valued at over a million dollars in 1938.

The marked decline in United States export trade with Uruguay was largely the result of a drastic curtailment in the allocation of exchange for American merchandise. With the decline in United. States imports of Uruguayan products, the Uruguayan Government, in accordance with its bilateral balancing policy, allotted only limited amounts of free and compensated exchange for the purchase of United States merchandise. The operation of the exchange system of Uruguay resulted, in 1938, in a decrease in United States exports to that country greatly exceeding the decline experienced in Uruguay's trade with the world. Uruguay's total trade in 1938 showed only a 3 percent decrease on the side of exports and an 8 percent decrease in the value of imports.