Evening star., 1940-06-11
Italians War Move
Deals New Blow 10
U. 5. Exporters
Importation Of Many
Important Products
Also Affected
BY OLIVER MCKEE.

With Italy's declaration Of war
against the Allies, American ex-
pOrterS face further contraction in
their overseas markets. Last year our
exports to Italy were valued at $58,-
1854 900 and our imports at $39, ,92l 900,
according to Commerce Department
figures as long as the British and
French navies control the entrance
to the Mediterranean at Gibraltar,
and the Allies hold the Suez Canal,
trade between the United States and
Italy will necessarily be reduced to
negligible proportions. American
flagships will be barred from the
Mediterranean as a combat area.
Cheese, olive oil, canned tomatoes.
raw silk and silk fabrics are the
principal commodities imported by
the United States from Italy. From
the United States Italy buys large
quantities of raw cotton, petroleum
products, copper and iron and steel
mill products. Last year, Italy OBJ
tanned 10 per cent of her scrap iron
requirements from the United States.
During the first three months of this
year our exports to Italy registered
100 per cent increase over the first
three months in 1899
| Closing of the entrances of the
Mediterranean will affect our trade
with all the countries in this area,
and the impact on our trade will be
even greater if the war extends to
other countries in this region. AL
though imports into the United
States from the entire Mediterranean
area, in value, represented only about
Z per cent of our total 1899 imports,
some of the items coming from this
region are highly important in our
national economy.
Important Items Supplied.
The Mediterranean area is an i'm
portant supplier of many items, clas-
sified by the Commerce Department
as necessities or semi-neceSSities
which cannot be produced In the
United States in quantities sufficient
to meet our peacetime requirements
and for which there are no satisfac-
tory substitutes in this country
Among the articles listed as necessi-
ties are crude opium, chrome ore
valonia 0ruit, raw wool, including
mohair, and quicksilver. The group
of semi-necessities includes cork, ar
gols, tartar and wine lees, goat and
kid skins, gum arabic and pyrethrum
flowers.
Although most of our imports OF
chrome ore originate in South At
rica, the Philippine Islands and
French Oceania, the United States
buys substantial quantities from
Turkey, Greece and Yugoslavia
Turkey and Yugoslavia supply the
United States with most of the op-
ium imported for medicinal pur-
poses, and practically all the valonia
imported into this country comes
from Greece and Turkey.
The Mediterranean area supplies
the United States with certain spe-
cial types of wool. All of our i'm
ports of quicksilver, strategic ma
terial, come from Italy and Spain
Our cork products industry is en-
tirely dependent on imports of un-
manufactured cork, obtained mainly
from Spain, Portugal, Morocco and
Algeria. Italy and Algeria and several
other Mediterranean countries ship
to the United States considerable
quantities of argols. tartar and wine
lees. Virtually all our imports of
long staple cotton come from Egypt
Hides and Skin Imports.
A large part of our imports of
hides and skins originate in the
Mediterranean area, and Egypt fur
nishes all our arabic gum require
ments. Other products for which
the Mediterranean countries are the
chief suppliers include icorice root,