U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Daniel C. Roper, Secretary BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE Trade Promotion Series-No. 175 EXPORT AND IMPORT PRACTICE By F. R. ELDRIDGE AND OTHER OFFICIALS OF THE BUREAU OF For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. Price 40 cents FOREWORD With the negotiation of trade agreements, and the numerous other efforts to minimize restrictions on world commerce, a new interest in our export and import trade has been aroused. This book, which describes, step by step, export and import practice in the United States today, seeks to enlighten those who are entering this field for the first time. It will also act as a guide to those who are reentering foreign trade after several years of inactivity. The first part of the book deals entirely with export practice and shows why and how the market abroad for any commodity should be analyzed, both as to the possibilities for its sale and the existing agencies for its distribution. The technique of export selling and the handling of competition in foreign markets; trade restrictions abroad; packing, documentation, and transportation; methods of protecting patents, trade-marks, and other industrial property from infringement abroad; and the financing of the export shipment-all these are explained. The second part is devoted to import practice. The best methods of analyzing the home market for imported products and the accepted agencies used in their purchase abroad and their distribution at home are treated in detail. The importance of the importer's credit position, the methods of purchasing the various types of imported commodities, United States customs procedure and formalities, and the financing of imports are discussed. Finally, after a consideration of why we import and how the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce now aids the importer, the methods of selling imported specialties and staples are made clear. Forms are used throughout to illustrate the text, and in the appendix are practical examples of export and import market analyses, as well as a glossary of commercial abbreviations. This book was written by a group of experts in the Bureau following an outline prepared by Frank R. Eldridge, Chief of the Commercial Intelligence Division, who has contributed a number of chapters. Among other contributors are Thomas Burke, Chief of the Specialties. Division; R. E. W. Harrison, former Chief of the Machinery Division; Grosvenor Jones, Chief of the Finance Division; Homer S. Fox, former Acting Chief of the Foreign Tariffs Division; Miss Roberta Wakefield, of the Foreign Tariffs Division; Thomas L. Wrenn, of the Transportation Division; James L. Brown and Leo G. Koepfle, of the Division of Commercial Laws; Horace W. Peters, of the Marketing Research Division; and E. E. Schnellbacher, Assistant Chief of the Commercial Intelligence Division. The Customs Division of the Treasury and the Insurance Division of the former Shipping Board Bureau have also given valuable assistance, as have several specialists of the Foodstuffs Division. FEBRUARY 1938. ALEXANDER V. DYE, Director, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. IV |