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127 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. v (1926)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0127 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD DURING the past ten years, more has been written about foreign trade, per- haps, than any other single subject. In the United States the discus- sion has centered about the over- night change from a debtor to a cred- itor nation, the startling changes to be expected in the relative volume of ex- ports and imports, and the various effects of debt repayment by foreign countries. Time after time we have been told that international debts can be paid only in goods and services, and that our new creditor status will likely result in a flood of merchandise imports in excess of exports. The unusual em- phasis placed on such points has had the very desirable result of impressing them indelibly on the public mind, but the very vehemence of the discussion has tended, through its overemphasis, to create the impression in some quar- ters that export trade is no longer im- portant nor desirable. Such, of course, is not the case, either from the stand- point of the individual exporter, or the nation as a whole. To the exporter the foreign trade market is apt to appear merely as an additional market to in- crease sales, and thereby permit large- scale production, or as an outlet in times of emergency for surplus stock which cannot be disposed of at home. Although domestic consumers may benefit appreciably by this practice because it permits the same producers to sell at lower prices in the United States, the real gain comes to the nation as a whole, for to the nation as a whole exports provide a means of securing the largest amount of satis- factions with the least expenditure of effort-a result which is accomplished by exchanging domestic goods pro- duced with great efficiency for those produced at great advantage in foreign v countries. Exports are, in reality, the price paid for imports, therefore the nation should be as vitally interested in its exports as the individual is in his expenditures. During the war, many revolutionary changes occurred in foreigp trade. While some of these rested on fun- damental factors such as technical changes in manufacturing methods, greater industrialization of certain sec- tions, or opening up of new sources of raw materials, others were directly traceable to disturbances created by the war and were destined to disappear with the return of peace. Enough time has now elapsed to permit an analysis of these changes and a sift- ing of the temporary from the per- manent. Accordingly the attempt is made in this volume to show the pres- ent status of our export trade and to discuss the influence of various gov- ernment policies on such trade. We have preferred to show the present status by a consideration of individual commodities, and have selected for special treatment not only those that have been most important in point of value, but also those that seem to present some special problem, such as foreign competition, or those that have shown very rapid growth in recent years. If we are to have a definite national policy toward export trade it can be formulated only after answering the following questions: What are our lead- ing exports? Why do we excel in the production of such goods? What pro- portion of our production is sold abroad? Is the demand merely tem- porary, or is it apt to be permanent? What obstacles are encountered in selling these goods abroad, and what is the source of greatest competition?

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