The central location of the Czechoslovak Republic in the heart of Europe favorably affects its commercial relations with foreign countries. All the five Central European states border directly upon our republic, and we are comparatively little distant from the other European states. The lack of a direct outlet to the sea is, of course, a great disadvantage for our foreign commerce, which is dependent on the agency of other countries. As a result our national economy is deprived of no inconsiderable gains; for, with our highly developed industrial position, there is a marked intensity of interest in exports to countries beyond the sea which in recent years has grown steadily, in keeping with the decline of consumption of our goods in the impoverished states neighboring on the Czechoslovak Republic.

The United States of America occupies first place among oversee continents in Czechoslovak foreign commerce; it holds fourth place in the exportation of goods to our state, and fifth place in imports of commodities from us. The United States is, next to Germany, Austria, and Great Britain, the most important factor in the total amount of our foreign commerce.

A most significant economic development affecting Czechoslovakia was the revision of the American tariff act in 1930, which became effective the same year. Until that time the Customs act and rates of 1922 were in effect, and the new tariff meant a decided step towards protectionism. The American legislator in no way sought his protectionist aspirations.

The new tariffs rates, providing in a great majority of cases for an ad valorum duty, meant also, in effect, a substantial increase, sometimes of more than 100 percent in comparison with former conditions.

The most important stipulations of the tariff act was that which empowered the President of the United States to raise or lower the tariff rates on certain classes of commodities up to 50 percent, if the tariff commission found such a provision necessary to equalize the difference between production costs in the United States and those of the principal competing nation; if that should prove insufficient, the duty in imports may be assessed according to the American sales price.

The mutual commercial relations between Czechoslovakia and the United States were fixed by the provisional treaty of October 29, 1923. This treaty is based on the "most favored nation" clause, but does not contain a tariff provision, since the United States makes no tariff treaties.

Czechoslovakia in its relations with the United States advanced from a markedly unfavorable balance of trade to one on the whole sufficiently favorable. Only in 1932 did there occur again an unfavorable balance of trade with the United States.

Year	Import from the US	Export to the US
1920	$121,891,150	$16,130,000
1921	$134,818,550	$22,830,000
1922	$68,164,900	$27,604,150
1923	$21,170,100	$16,515,050
1924	$26,358,850	$21,318,350
1925	$33,148,700	$22,415,400
1926	$22,534,000	$25,054,250
1927	$36,564,150	$30,006,150
1928	$34,067,850	$34,690,500
1929	$32,259,200	$43,615,150
1930	$23,275,250	$25,938,200
1931	$14,320,950	$23,838,600
1932	$24,685,000	$14,054,100

Here we must keep in consideration, that trade between the Czechoslovak Republic and the United States is even greater, because it is carried on via the free ports of Hamburg and Bremen, and is in part entered in their foreign trade statistics.

The most important classes of commodities imported by us from the United States are cotton, grain, and flour, fats, wood, minerals, gums and resins, rubber (automobile tires), leather and leather goods, iron and iron manufactures, base metals and the products thereof, machinery and apparatus (typewriters and calculating machines), electrical machinery, automobiles, instruments, chemical auxiliary materials.

The most important kinds of goods exported from Czechoslovakia to the United States are: fruits, animal products, cotton yarns and cotton goods, flax, hemp and jute manufactures (table linens), woolen manufactures, silk goods, made up articles, paper, leather and leather manufactures (footwear), wooden wares (bent wood furniture), glass, iron and iron manufactures (musical instruments), chemical auxiliary materials, varnishes, artistic and literary works.

The United States of America emerged from the World war as the most powerful political unit economically. It was spared the direct effects of the war on its own territory, and a considerable portion of the European gold found its way into its treasury. The development of American trade was made possible by a great domestic market, a wealthy consuming public, and an untouched store of raw materials, whereas European trade had to contend with exactly the opposite conditions. For the Czechoslovak Republic the United States was an inexhaustible source of foodstuffs and materials necessary to industry. Czechoslovakia exports to the United States for the most part manufactured products, whereas raw materials are the chief article imported from America by the Czechoslovak Republic.

So far as our financial relations with the United States are concerned, mention must be made of the condition of our state's indebtedness to America. The 8 percent investment loan of 1922, granted by the United States in two issues, the first of $14,000,000 and the second of $9,250,000 ($23,250,000 in all) is being gradually paid up by our state, apart from interest payments, so that the first part of the loan at the end of 1932 only amounted to $12,040,800 and the second to $8,239,000. The further 7 1/2 percent loan of $25,000,000, contracted with the United States in 1925, our state finally repaid on April 1, 1928.

Besides, there were issued to the United States obligations for foodstuffs and military credits during the war period to the amount of $89,006,432 and for flour delivered to us in the post war period to the amount of $2,873,238. Czechoslovakia has always promptly met its payments, most recently on December 15, 1932.

There is no doubting the fact that in the future the mutual economic relations of Czechoslovakia with America will improve substantially, especially should the high tariff barriers in the United States be lowered.

(Translated by Charles Heitzman)

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