Abstract
The empirical evidence on intra-dollar Bloc trade, total Dollar Bloc trade and world trade is summarized in Table 56, for nine years covering the period 1928–1956.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
See Chapter II, section on the United States.
The absolute value of total Dollar Bloc imports declined by 48 per cent between 1928 and 1938 as compared with only 37 per cent for total Dollar Bloc exports.
According to D. I. T. statistics.
Intra-imports between Venezuela and the U. S. amounted to 1.9 per cent of these countries’ total imports in 1928 and to 3.6 per cent in 1938 (See Table 57).
U. N., Foreign Capital in Latin America (New York, 1955), p. 145.
From 16.845 thousand cubic meters to 29.896 thousand cubic meters according to U. N., Economic Survey of Latin America 1949, p. 457.
The U. S. supplied 45 per cent of Colombia’s total imports in 1928 and 52 per cent in 1938 while the former share of Cuba’s total imports rose from 61 to 71 per cent over the same period.
Amounting to respectively 289 million dollars in 1938 and 2946 million dollars in 1956 (See Table 15).
Intra-imports between Venezuela and the U. S. represented 9.5 per cent of their combined total imports in 1956 as compared to only 3.2 per cent in 1938 (See Table 57).
U. N., Economic Survey of Latin America 1949, p. 457, and U. N., Economic Survey of Latin America 1955, p. 83.
U. N., Economic Survey of Latin America 1954, p. 95.
According to D. I. T. statistics.
U. N., Economic Survey of Latin America 1949, p. 58; and U. N., Economic Survey of Latin America 1953, p. 141.
U. N., Economic Survey of Latin America 1949, p. 58; and U. N., Economic Survey of Latin America 1953, p. 61.
According to the 1954 U. N. Economic Survey of Latin America, Colombian coffee exports to the U. S. and Canada amounted to 395 million dollars between January and September, 1954, while Brazil’s coffee exports to the same areas only totalled 386 million dollars in the same period (See p. 47).
Colombia’s relative share of the American coffee market declined in 1955–1956. Furthermore Colombia followed restrictive import policies which impeded the inflow of investment. These reasons account for the drop in the percentage of intratrade between the U. S. and Colombia to Dollar Bloc trade in 1956 (See Table 58).
It should be noted that these ratios are computed inclusive of trade in silver, whereas the trade statistics for 1928 and 1938 based on the League of Nations’ Network exclude silver from commodity trade. This explains the discrepancy between the 1938 proportion of intratrade between Mexico and the U. S. to total Dollar Bloc trade, arrived at by these two different sources. The increase in intratrade exclusive of silver between Mexico and the U. S. for the period 1939–1954 would be even more pronounced since Mexican exports of silver to the U. S. appear to have declined relatively when 1954 is compared to 1938.
See U. S. Dept. of Commerce, World Trade Information Service, “Trade of the U. S. with Latin America 1954,” p. 8. This trend was partially influenced by the high price of coffee in 1954. Nevertheless, there was a 30 per cent rise in volume between 1952 and 1954 (See same publication, p. 5).
U. N., Processes and Problems of Industrialization in Under-Developed Countries (New York, 1955), p. 117.
In 1956 the corresponding ratio was 12 per cent. This relatively high figure was almost exclusively caused by the rise in the U. S. trade surplus with Canada to over 1 billion dollars. It is quite unlikely that the magnitude of this balance will be maintained at its 1956 level.
Inclusive of silver imports from Mexico. It should be noted that the import surplus was wholly ascribable to silver imports in 1938.
Brazil, Argentina, the Union of South Africa, and Australia.
U. N., Processes and Problems of Industrialization, p. 113. See also G. A. T. T., International Trade 1956, pp. 16–17.
U. S. Department of Commerce, Balance of Payments, Statistical Supplement (Washington, 1958), p. 152.
U. N., Foreign Capital in Latin America, p. 79.
It should be noted that Cuba can use the proceeds of her export surplus with Western Europe to finance her deficit with the U. S.
See U. S., Department of Commerce, “Trade of the U. S. with Latin America 1954,” p. 16.
These three commodities accounted for about 90 per cent of the value of U. S. imports from Ecuador.
U. S., Department of Commerce, “Trade of the U. S. with Latin America 1954,” p. 22.
This figure was reduced to 94 million dollars in 1956 (See Table 59).
U. S., Department of Commerce, “Foreign Investment of the U. S.,” Survey of Current Business (Supplement 1953), p. 6; and Survey of Current Business (Aug. 1955), p. 16.
U. S., Department of Commerce, “Trade of the U. S. with Latin America 1954,” p. 10.
It should be noted that in 1956 the trade surplus of the U. S. vis-à-vis Canada was in excess of 1 billion dollars, mainly as a result of a substantial increase in U. S. exports of capital goods and steel. Even then, this amount, representing 15 per cent of the United States’ trade turnover with Canada, was relatively smaller than in either 1928 or 1938.
U. S. Department of Commerce, “International Investment Position of the U. S.” Survey of Current Business (May 1954), p. 12; and U. S. Department of Commerce, Balance of Payments, Statistical Supplement, 1958, p. 152.
See Table 15 and section on Canada in Chapter II. There is some evidence that the Canadian government is attempting to alter the regional distribution of its foreign trade away from the U. S. and towards the U. K. Some of the implications of this policy will be examined in the concluding chapter.
U. S., Department of Commerce, Survey of Current Business (Aug. 1955), p. 16. Total U. S. direct investment in Venezuela amounted to 1817 million dollars in 1956 (See Table 60).
Following the method described in footnote on p. 110 (Chapter IV).
Based on D. I. T. statistics.
U. S., Department of Commerce, Supplement to Survey of Current Business 1953, p. 6.
U. N., Economic Survey of Latin America 1948, p. 209.
U. N., Economic Survey of Latin America 1954, p. 201.
See Pan American Union, Organization of American States (Washington, 1955), pp. 11–12.
See Pan American Union, Organization of American States (Washington, 1955), pp. p. 1.
The following quotation illustrates this point: “As early as November 1948 the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States reached agreement on a standard screw thread, and in 1951 agreement was reached between them on a basic dimension of hexagon bolts, screws, and nuts. The adoption of these standards makes possible the interchangeability of many products of the engineering industries of the three countries.” British Information Service, Western Cooperation (Nov. 1955), p. 66.
U. N., Economic Survey of Latin America 1948, p. 209.
Raymond F. Mikesell, Foreign Investments in Latin America (Washington: Pan American Union, 1955), pp. 55–56.
See U. N., Foreign Capital in Latin America, p. 145.
U. S., Department of Commerce, Supplement to Survey of Current Business 1953, p. 1.
Ibid., p. 2.
Statement by H. B. Woolley, Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Foreign Economic Policy, Nov. 1955, p. 215.
U. N., A Study of Trade between Latin America and Europe, p. 62. The same trend occurred in Canada where the per capita consumption of coffee rose from 1.1 klg. per year in 1924–1928 to 2.8 klg. per year in 1950.
Colombia’s share of world production of coffee amounted to 15 per cent in 1952 as against only 9 per cent in 1924–1928 (see supra, p. 179).
U. N., A Study of Trade between Latin America and Europe, p. 59.
Another factor which stimulated U. S. imports of Colombia’s coffee after the war was the shift towards milder coffee in America, thus benefiting the milder Colombian coffee beans.
Eugene R. Schlesinger, “The Long-run Outlook for U. S. Merchandise Imports,” International Monetary Fund Staff Papers (Feb. 1954), p. 392. 4 Ibid., pp. 406–408.
See Henry G. Aubrey, op. cit.
Ibid., p. 46.
H. Zassenhaus, “Direct Effects of a U. S. Recession on Imports; Expectations and Events,” Review of Economics and Statistics (Aug. 1955), p. 243.
See B. Tew, op. cit., for a good discussion of the machinery of the Sterling Area’s Exchange Control System. 2 Ibid., p. 137.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1959 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Thorbecke, E. (1959). The Tendency Towards Regionalization in the Dollar Bloc. In: The Tendency towards Regionalization in International Trade 1928–1956. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-1053-0_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-1053-0_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-015-0424-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-015-1053-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive