12 



United States, 1908 must be regarded as a year of retrogression com- 

 pared with 1907, although the last quarter of 1907 also suffered from 

 economic depression. The total imports of the United States in 1908 

 were of a value of $ 1.1 16.000.000 against $ 1.423.000.000 in 1907, 

 showing a decline of $ 307.000.000, or 21 °/ . The total exports from 

 the UnitedStates in 1908 were $ 1.753.000.000 against $ 1.923.000.000 

 in 1907, so that the falling off on the year amounted to $ 170.000.000, 

 or 8,8 °/ . It is chiefly owing to the heavy exports of copper, showing a 

 surplus of 295.000 tons, that the decline in exports has been limited 

 to 8,8 °/ . The imports of New York, which consist chiefly of manu- 

 factured goods either for consumption or for use in industrial processes, 

 has fallen by $ 188.000.000, or 2 5°/o> and the receipts of the Customs 

 in New York were $ 3.600.000, or 17% below those of 1907. 



These data, which we take from the report of the Commercial 

 Expert at the German Imperial Consulate- General in New York, are 

 too clear to need comment, and show the past business year to have 

 been an entirely unsatisfactory one for the United States. 



Although in the Argentine the decline in the price of wool, 

 an article of enormous importance for that country, has disturbed 

 industrial progress, the excellent harvest, the produce of which has 

 found a ready sale, has more than recompensed for the loss on wool. 

 The heavy stocks of imported goods, which at first threatened to 

 bring disaster, were soon cleared, and a healthy business demand was 

 developed, in which our industry has also taken its share. 



In Uruguay similar conditions prevailed, except that in the first 

 half of the year the unfavourable state of the wool market was still 

 more heavily felt there. The merchants in the interior of the country 

 passed through serious times, and the slowness with which money was 

 paid in, as well as a general disinclination for business, reacted upon 

 the import houses in Montevideo. Recently confidence in the future 

 has been regained, as the harvest prospects are good, and the purch- 

 asing power of the population of the back-country may consequently 

 be considerably increased. 



As a matter of course, the general crisis has not passed over 

 Brazil without leaving an impression, and the sales of goods in the 

 interior of the country were occasionally seriously impeded. In the 

 Northern part of the Republic business was especially affected by the 

 fall in the price of india-rubber, and in Central Brazil by the increased 

 export duty on coffee. But as towards the end of the year the 

 rubber market improved again and as the further extension of coffee 

 plantations is being put a stop to by the introduction of rice cultiv- 

 ation, there is every appearance that better times are in store. 



In the Official Jornal do Commercio of January 30 th 1909, the 

 summaries relating to the foreign trade of Brazil in the past 3 years, 



