Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1890-10-16
Pan.American Commerce.

Statistician Dodge of the Agricul-
tural Bureau at Washington has rem
dered service to the community by
publishing in his September report
statistics of our Pan-American trade
for the latest fiscal year. Our exports
amounted TO 6S millions Cos, 104. 9S3),
of which $2S, 405,SC4, or nearly AZ
per cent, was in agricultural products,
while the corresponding imports were.
l78! millions (Sl78, 692, 377) of which
1913 millions ($15S, 2s3, 945) was "ag-
riculLural." The latter form little
more than 49, per cent Of the total,
and almost 80 per cent consisted of
sugar and coffee, the former chiefly
from the West Indies and the other
mostly from South America, chiefly
Brazil. The value OF exports is about
three. eighths that of the imports, and
more than 10 millions in cash was
required to settle the difference against
this country.
AT present the Argentine Republic
levies an import duty OF nearly 2 cents
per pound on flour, or 81 per barrel,
and So cents per bushel on wheat, but
permits half of this to be paid in a
badly deprecated paper currency.
Meats pay 20 to 45 per cent ad valor-
EN-. Bolivia charges 10 per cent on
sailed meats, wheat and corn lree,
and collects 224 per cent on lard and
suet. Brazil levies about "a cents per
bushel on wheat and cents per pound
on lard either rendered or prepared
Chilli admits corn and whea flour free
but collects an ad valorem duty of S7i
cents on meats, meat extracts, and
animal fat. Colombia has imposed
duty of about cents per pound on
flour, or Sc per barrel, and four times
as much on prepared food, including
hams, but admits live animals free.
The tax in Ecuador, including the
municipal, amounts to little more
than cent per pound on wheat and
2f cents on -four Cor IS, so per barely,
hams and other meats, with twice
that on lard. British Guiana taxes
imports OF pork and beet S1.50 per
barrel and lard l cent per pound.
The import tax in French Guiana
amounts to per cent ad valorem, ex-
ccpt that beet is free. Peru collects
nearly ! cent per pound on wheat,
cents on flour (S3 per barely. 10 per
cent ad valorem on canned meats,
and % per cent on lard. Uruguay has
sliding scale OF duties on breadstuffs,
all high. Venezuela duties are equal
to about / I cents per pound on -four
Cor So. so per barely, meats, lard and
butter, and nearly + cent per pound
on wheat. The last named sells to the
United States nearly Us much as all
the other countries combined, while
it buys from us only little more than
% per cent OF its total expectations to
us, and purchases from each of three
European countries considerably more
than twice as much as from us.
Half of all that Venezuela sells for
export is to the United States, and by
| far the greater part of it comes into
this country duty free, hut there Is a
| heavy tax on exports from that cour-
try, which are collected in the shape
OF incidental charges. Our exports
to Venezuela paid duties to her in 1889
of nearly Sl,500,000 (estimated), and
her export tax on shipments would
swell the total to fully S2,000,000 of
pecuniary gain on the whole trade
with the United States.
The rates of duty other than ad
valorem are mostly given in the re-
port as so much in the currency of the
country named for kllogram OF 2.2
pounds nearly. They have been
changed roughly into units common
in the United States, but the results
are sufficiently near the truth to give
an idea OF the situation and the
amount Of advantage that may be ex-
pected to accure from the establish
ment of the Blaine scheme OF recipro-
cal commercial relations between
those countries and the United States.
The whole OF the $40, 100000 OF diff
ference against us paid TO them by
our merchants on the business OF the
latest fiscal year might have been
paid 10 our farm and mill products
instead OF in cash had such arrange
ments been made earlier, and the
adoption OF the Blaine policy would
not only insure such O substitution
for the business OF the future, but
might legitimately be expected to- fos-
ter that trade into vastly larger ag.
gregate for coming years II trade
with those countries were made free.
Such desirable result is well worth
the trying for, no matter by whom
the plan for reform be proposed OF
what party or men get credit for it.
The extension OF our export business
TO the Pan-American countries tc
obviate the necessity OF sending GU
$l10,000,000 year in gold to be ex
IA T.. L. =,