THE CAUSE OF THE DEPRECIATION OF THE AMERICAN DOLLAR ABROAD

The imports and exports from the United States in 1917 amounted to over nine billion dollars. The exports amounted to six billion, two hundred and thirty-one million; the imports to two billion, nine hundred and fifty-two million, with a favorable balance of trade to the United States of approximately three billion, one hundred and eighty million. I submit on the following pages a table of these imports and exports:

Exports to— Month of December— 12 months ended December—

1917 1916 1917 1916

Grand divisions:

Europe $323,690,436 $349,558,509 $4,054,362,029 $3,813,278,324

North America 155,135,812 93,285,797 1,264,688,666 924,553,649

South America 33,700,646 22,787,859 312,420,985 220,266,818

Asia 60,465,901 42,447,145 431,149,591 364,959,155

Oceania 14,591,876 9,751,896 117,158,921 105,572,649

Africa 6,279,609 5,402,574 51,464,784 54,010,506

Total 593,864,280 523,233,780 6,231,244,976 5,482,641,101

Principal countries:

Austria-Hungary .... .... .... 61,771

Belgium 8,400 6,691,023 22,628,659 30,998,928

Denmark 134,363 4,165,928 32,388,864 56,329,490

France 73,564,381 58,706,507 940,810,070 860,821,006

Germany .... 1,142,353 3,275 2,260,634

Greece 1,030,494 1,431,702 8,477,603 33,685,689

Italy 46,162,066 37,974,651 419,095,473 303,530,476

Netherlands 7,899,931 11,345,624 90,520,301 113,730,162

Norway 1,668,338 4,234,745 62,866,850 66,209,717

Russia in Europe 816,462 23,097,932 314,639,528 309,806,581

Spain 10,159,988 6,577,521 92,409,320 64,316,888

Sweden 503,364 5,900,309 20,900,854 47,967,590

United Kingdom 177,433,009 185,209,430 2,001,031,104 1,887,380,665

Canada 101,767,255 60,939,523 829,972,331 604,908,190

Central America 4,861,129 4,008,658 52,206,466 46,531,841

Mexico 15,485,408 4,415,374 111,111,541 54,270,283

Cuba 24,652,166 18,846,295 196,350,315 164,666,037

Argentina 11,553,945 7,192,128 107,641,905 76,874,258

Brazil 6,566,030 5,210,987 66,207,970 47,669,050

Chile 7,586,866 3,919,899 57,483,996 33,392,887

China 6,366,898 3,645,538 40,208,612 31,516,140

British East Indies 7,290,060 3,775,091 42,746,749 30,799,916

Japan 40,199,201 14,821,946 186,347,941 109,156,490

Russia in Asia 525,675 16,540,391 109,169,243 160,701,673

Australia and New Zealand 6,474,755 7,351,503 76,909,225 81,305,968

Philippine Islands 7,804,316 2,268,853 38,148,726 22,775,491

British Africa 5,215,449 2,508,294 39,023,443 32,448,177

Statement of imports and exports,

12 months ended December, 1917.

Exports. Imports Balance in our favor.

Netherlands $90,520,301 $22,744,504 $67,775,797

Norway 62,866,850 6,280,233 56,586,617

Spain 92,469,320 36,881,630 55,587,690

Sweden 20,900,854 18,069,487 2,881,367

Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Washington, February 4, 1918.

Imports and Exports, by Grand Divisions and Countries.

Total values of merchandise imported from and exported to each of the principal countries during December, 1917, and the 12 months ended December, 1917, compared with corresponding periods of the preceding year, were made public to-day by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of Commerce, as follows:

Imports from— Month of December— 12 months ended December—

1917 1916 1917 1916

Grand divisions:

Europe $40,617,322 $59,107,818 $551,144,599 $633,316,886

North America 56,506,340 47,686,900 871,982,524 658,438,120

South America 49,669,439 43,786,488 598,818,532 427,609,562

Asia 62,142,195 45,422,209 758,237,165 516,704,047

Oceania 12,792,804 4,827,542 99,221,196 93,673,382

Africa 6,183,397 4,003,231 73,063,939 61,893,338

Total 227,911,497 204,834,188 2,952,467,955 2,391,635,335

Principal countries:

Austria-Hungary .... 27,980 64,937 631,251

Belgium .... 156,835 158,022 1,479,342

France 8,662,632 10,488,210 98,639,653 108,893,119

Germany 451 138,269 159,352 5,819,472

Italy 3,219,301 4,789,202 36,480,807 60,235,172

Netherlands 747,674 3,689,940 22,744,504 43,602,076

Norway 261,481 844,802 6,280,233 6,430,316

Russia in Europe 2,661,145 83,848 12,350,179 4,478,990

Spain 3,496,232 3,675,167 36,881,630 32,577,377

Sweden 329,403 5,505,941 18,069,487 18,856,638

Switzerland 1,826,252 1,927,928 19,834,668 22,414,383

United Kingdom 16,874,793 25,765,390 280,080,175 305,486,952

Canada 36,232,364 23,753,953 413,674,846 237,249,040

Mexico 9,858,406 10,399,693 130,434,722 105,065,780

Cuba 5,053,741 9,108,597 248,598,199 243,728,770

Argentina 17,560,443 12,509,181 178,245,833 116,292,647

Brazil 8,233,119 14,286,609 145,274,931 132,067,378

Chile 13,618,362 5,914,498 142,597,929 82,123,995

China 8,402,995 6,352,337 125,106,020 80,041,851

British East Indies 20,992,304 17,138,997 259,629,897 201,190,844

Japan 23,692,557 17,268,621 253,669,709 182,090,737

Australia and New Zealand 7,403,284 1,682,769 32,002,203 55,826,228

Philippine Islands 4,633,395 2,718,912 62,386,641 34,162,081

Egypt .... 2,944,041 27,352,444 29,533,795

It will be seen from this table that our commodity trade balance with Spain was in our favor by fifty-five million, five hundred eighty-seven thousand, six hundred and ninety dollars. Therefore, Spain needed fifty-five million dollars more than was due her on the difference of shipments to Spain from the United States of commodities, and the shipment of commodities by Spain to the United States. Why, then, was not the dollar at a premium instead of the Spanish peseta being at a premium? The reason was that the United States had loaned to her Allies two billion dollars more than the favorable “trade balance” of the United States, and these loans in terms of dollars had been used by our Allies to settle their debts with Spain, as an international commodity trade creditor to an approximate amount of over a hundred million of dollars in value, who did not need these dollars, or pounds sterling, or francs. The Spanish banks did place substantial balances in Paris, London and New York, but there was still due to Spain for commodities a large amount which had to be settled in some way. Great Britain, France and the United States had an embargo on gold and we could not settle these balances by gold because of the gold embargo. If we had settled the balances in gold the dollar would have gone to par and so would have the pound sterling and the French franc, but we were compelled, because gold was not available, to borrow this money from Spain in some form or other, and it was borrowed in some form or other from Spanish merchants, business men, and Spanish banks in many ways, but those who borrowed the pesetas from Spain, or those who loaned our people the pesetas in Spain, sold those pesetas to the citizens of the United States at a tremendous price. The credit extended is taking advantage of war conditions to extort an unendurable price for the use of this Spanish credit during the war, and fully justifies adequate steps being taken to correct it.