The Sun and the New York herald., 1920-04-19
GERMANY OUT FOR
MORE TRADE IN US.
Her Bankers and Business Men
Are Preparing for Good
Increase.
PLANNING NEW CAMPAIGN
Designed to Stabilize Foreign
Exchange and Mercantile
Affairs.

| Special 10 The SuN AND NEW YORK hEhALp'
WASHINGTON, April lS--German bank
ers and business men are preparing for
great increase IN, American trade with
Germany. according to Information COM
ing to Official sources here. A new busl-
nesb campaign calculated to aid the Ger
man foreign exchange position and put
trading on a better basis Is being
planned and operating and financing
groups to carry on the business are being
organized,
Although trading with Germany was
resumed last August exports and i'm
ports have moved In limited quantity on
account, It Is stated, Of lack OF goods and
inability to get transportation and meet
the exchange situation. But trade re-
ports coming to the Department OF Com
nierco indicate that the copmercial and
agricultural position is s1getting rapidly
better despite the unrest and recur-
renee of revolution.
Germany, II seems, hopes to draw on
the United States for Il large share OF
raw materials and grains and exchange
manufactures that will improve the
trade balance and the exchange ra-
The three fundamental requirements
for this trade are being approached
through organization.
First, representatives Of the North
German Lloyd and the Hamburg Ameri-
can lines are seeking restoration of reg
ular line steamship service between the
principal American and German ports
formerly operated by those companies.
They want their old vessels put in the
service under American ownership and
the American flag.
Organize Trading Company.
Second, new company, known as the
Dautsche Observation-Disclosures els
chaft has been organized at Ham
burg to obtain credits for importation
of raw materials into Germany. Many
Of the most prominent German bankers
united In the formation of the company,
the names including big German inter-
national houses. 1t is the second one or
ganlzed for foreign trade finance and
obtaining German credits on goods.
Third, manufacturing and selling COM
binatlons have been formed to meet de-
mands of foreign markets, and export
prices are to be maintained at higher
level than domestic prices.
According to Department of Commerce
figures on German trade there is a
tremendous balance in favor OF the
United States, but our new system Of
valuation of imports has made 1t appear
more preponderant than It really is, COM
pared with the recent past.
This Government began keeping values
of imports on the basis of the current
exchange rates on January l. Formerly
they had been valued on the normal ex-
change or gold basis The change has
been the subject OF considerable mis-
understanding, and was brought about
only after considerable confusion some
where in the consular service.
Up to The first Of the year in valuing
German imports for the purpose Of
United States trade statistics marks
were transferred into dollars on the aor-
NAL basis, or gold value. The German gold
mark has a value OF 23.S cents. Conse-
quently an article valued at 100 marks
was valued at $23.S0 cents, when In fact
at the current exchange rate in New
York, with marks worth actually about
two cents each, the article would cost
here only about So. The volume of
goods, however, was still the same.
Import duties were paid on the actual
value on the basis Of current exchange,
and last November the Department of
Commerce asked the Treasury to change
its method of reporting the figures for
the commerce statistics The change was
to have been made on January /. Con-
sular officers were instructed to furnish
certificates of currency depreciation for
all countries In which currency was
actually deprecated, 10 be attached TO
all conaignments of goods coming to
this country. Some did and some did
not, and figures for January were kept
both ways and are meaningless for COM
parative purposes.