OCR Text |
Show CUR FOREIGN TRADE We can always learn something from the figures on our foreign for-eign trade. The figures for the fiscal year just closed show that America s commerce with other nations amounted to the enormous total of nine billion dollars, an increase of more than a half billion dollars over the figures of the year previous. But the significant fact that this increase was made up entirely of imports. The goods shipped into America amounted to $4,466,678,-493, an increase in round numbers of $64G'.000.000 over the imports of the year previous. pre-vious. The exports totaled $4,753,516,204. a decline of $111.-000,000 $111.-000,000 over the year before. In the fiscal year 1924-25 the favorable fa-vorable trade balance was $1,040,452,789. For the fiscal year just closed this favorable trade balance was reduced to $286,828,-711. $286,828,-711. . . This reduction in the trade balance is, of course, due to the tact that during the year we increased the amount of goods we bought from Europe and the rest of the world, and failed to sell them as much in return as we did the year previous. If the same ratio of the change in the balance of our imports and exports is kep-. up, we aie veiy apt to close the present fiscal year with an unfavorable un-favorable trade balance. In other words, for the first time in years, wc wili be buying more from Europe than we are selling her. It is true that the greatest decline in our exports was due to the falling off in the amount of grain we sent abroad, and this was due primarily, in turn, to our reduced crops in wheat and rye which did not permit of so much selling abroad. At the same time the increase in the value of our imports was due in part to the increase in the price of crude rubber and other raw materials which we buy abroad. But this does not gainsay the fact that the balance of trade is slowly turning against us. It is a situation which requires serious thought. Certainly it does not encourage a reduction in the tariff. |