New-York tribune., 1918-09-22
Webb Law Associations
Prepare for Peace Trade
Leading Business Units Are Combining Under the New
Exports Act for the Commercial Invasion of
the Worlds Markets

After the war, what then? At pres
ent perhaps no other question fingers
more pcrsistently in the minds of bus
mess men than this. Those with as
pirations to foreign commerce after the
war are beginning to realize that in
he white heat of the worlds greatest
conflict they must begin to get ready
for the economic scramble that is com,
ing later.
Since the Webb Pomerene bill be-
came law last winter economic pre-
paredness for after the war trade has
crystallizcd around that act. More
than forty associations and corpora
tlons have already filed reports with
the Federal Trade Commission at
Washington, notifying it that they
purpose to take advantage of the spe-
cla privileges allowed under the "act
to promote export trade and for other
purposes" (the Webb law. And what
IS of equal if not greater Importance
leaders of other business units who
are looking ahead are holding CONVEX
sations with their competitors and are
arranging the preliminaries, SO that at
a weeks notice they will be able to
form Webb law associations and enter
the arena Of world trade on the same
legal footing as their competitors from
overseas.
Roughly speaking, the Webb law
largely nullifies the Sherman anti
trust law so far as concerns engaged
solely in the export business are con-.
cerned. 1t allows American business
firms to combine with their competi-
tors for the invasion in trading way
of foreign fields. 1t authorizes agree
ments al to prices and the unification
of selling and advertising organiza-
tions. 1t frees the American export
business from the legal restraints
which foreign traders long asserted
handicapped them in the efforts before
the war to compete with Germany,
Great Britain, France and the other
great trading nations.
Unfair Practices
Still Tabooed
On the other hand, the Webb law
does not exempt foreign trade con-
Germs from all the nhibtons fixed by
the previously existing antitrust laws.
Unfair practices, such as bribing the
employees of a competitor. refusing to
sell to foreign buyers who also deal
with competing American firms, and the
whole array of illegal tactics, which
form lively chapter in the history of
the prosecution Of American trusts"
are forbidden under the law, which
gives the right to any American trader
to report instances of such unfair
practices to the government for the
purpose of initiating prosecution. The
line between what the Webb law allows
and does not allow apparently is not
clearly perceived in certain quarters of
Argentina, where the wall recently
arose that this law permitted Amer
can firms to do all the "horrible"
things in foreign countries which they
are expressly forbidden to do at home.
The Webb law will enable American
industries to enter the foreign field as
single units, but the foreign custom
ers will not be forced to buy from the
American associations on any terms
they may ask. The foreign buyers will
have the advantage Of competition from
the European nations. The Webb law
principle is clearly not designed as a
means of exploiting foreign countries,
but to enable American exporters to
carry on their trade "push" on the !
same terms that those of the Euro
pean nations do.
"With all proper safeguards against |
abuse" writes Gilbert II. Montague,
lawyer and one of the most insistent
advocates of the act, "the Webb-P om-
creme law permits in foreign markets |
a degree of free action to which the
American export trade heretofore has
been a stranger. The law permits any
American exporter 70 act in combna
ton with any other American exporter, i
and with as many, or as few, as he
desires, under any arrangement that he !
and they may agree upon, for any pur-
pose whatever that relates to American
export trade, or to trade in any for |
eign market, SO long as such arrange
ment does not affect trade within the !
United States or does not include un-
fair methods of competition against
some outside American competitor who
is also engaged in the American ex-
port trade. Such arrangements may
provide for the apportionment of or