GENERAL DESCRIPTION

1. Statistics on the foreign commerce of the United States have been issued by the Department of Commerce since 1904 (Rev. Stat. 336), and since 1923 the tabulation work has also been under its jurisdiction. From 1820 to 1903 the Treasury Department tabulated and published these data annually in "Commerce and Navigation," as prescribed by the act of Congress of February 10, 1820. Prior to that time statistics on foreign trade were contained in American State Papers. These earlier foreign trade figures, however, were summarized and published by the Treasury Department in 1884.

2. The documents used as the source for foreign trade statistics are the statistical copies of the Import Entries and Warehouse Withdrawals prepared by importers or their brokers, and Export Declarations, sworn or certified to by shippers or their authorized agents, and filed with the United States customs officials.

3. The country designations used throughout these statistics are presented in the Classification of Countries (Schedule C), page VIII. For statistical purposes, it has been necessary to combine the trade figures for certain adjacent provinces, territories, and islands of small areas under a single country designation. Changes of area or designation as far as ascertainable occurring in this volume are as follows:

Austria. On and after May 6, 1938, trade with Austria is included with that of Germany.

Czecho-Slovakia.-Trade with the Sudeten area on and after November 10, 1938, and trade with the provinces of Bohemia, Moravia, and part of Slovakia, effective March 18, 1939, is included with Germany. Trade with respective portions of Ruthenia (Carpatho-Ukraine), and part of Slovakia occupied by Hungary on December 30, 1938, and March 19, 1939, is included with Hungary after those dates. Germany.-Figures include trade with Austria effective May 6, 1938; Czecho-Slovak Sudeten area effective November 10, 1938, the provinces of Bohemia, Moravia, and part of Slovakia, effective March 18, 1939; Lithuanian territory of Memel, effective March 25, 1939; Danzig and the western part of Poland, effective November 16, 1939.

Hungary. Figures include trade with respective portions of Ruthenia (Carpatho-Ukraine) and part of Slovakia after December 30, 1938 and March 19, 1939.

Ireland.-Effective January 1, 1938, the area formerly designated as Irish Free State (central and southern Ireland) is referred to as "Ireland."

Lithuania.-Trade with the territory of Memel on and after March 25, 1939 is included with Germany.

Panama Canal Zone and Panama (Republic of).—Effective January 1, 1938, foreign trade statistics for the Panama Canal Zone are shown separately from the Republic of Panama.

Burma and British India.-Effective January 1, 1938, foreign trade with Burma is shown separately. It was formerly included in the figures for British India.

4. The trade of noncontiguous possessions of the United States. The foreign trade totals of the United States as reported in the tables contained in this volume relate to the trade of the United States and noncontiguous territories (United States Customs Area) with foreign countries. Noncontiguous territories considered as part of the United States Customs Area are Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and since January 1, 1935, the Virgin Islands. The trade of these territories with foreign countries is shown separately, by commodities, in tables 2 and 5, and by countries in table 8. The Philippine Islands and the Panama Canal Zone are treated, for statistical purposes, as foreign countries.

The total value of the trade of continental United States with Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Wake and Midway Islands, reported under the provisions of Revised Statutes 337, is published monthly in the "Monthly Summary of Foreign Commerce." Detailed figures by commodities for Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are published in the December issue of that publication.

IMPORTS OF MERCHANDISE

SOURCE

Import statistics are based on information supplied by the importer at the time entry is made. Subsequent examination of the merchandise by the appraiser may result in revisions of the quantity, value, or classification of the merchandise. The lapse of time between entry of the merchandise and final liquidation makes it impossible to carry all these liquidation changes into the statistics of imports.

COVERAGE

1. Imports for consumption include all the following types of transactions:

(a) Commodities which, upon arrival, enter immediately into domestic merchandising or consumption channels. (b) Commodities such as wheat and petroleum products entered directly into bonded manufacturing warehouses for further processing to be subsequently withdrawn for exportation (for statistical purposes treated as immediate consumption transactions), and such commodities transferred from bonded storage warehouses to bonded manufacturing warehouses for further processing to be subsequently withdrawn for exportation.

(c) Commodities withdrawn from bonded storage warehouses for domestic consumption.

(d) Commodities, such as copper, lead, and zinc, withdrawn from bonded smelting and refining warehouses for domestic consumption or for export. "Withdrawal for consumption" of merchandise from bonded warehouses may be made at any time within 3 years from the date of importation upon payment of duties and charges accruing thereon. However, this period may be extended to 4 or 5 years when the necessity arises.

The "general imports" and "imports for consumption" for any period differ to the extent that the "entries for bonded customs warehouses" for any period are more or less than "withdrawals for consumption" from such warehouses.

2. General imports of merchandise include commodities entered immediately upon arrival into merchandising or consumption channels, plus commodities entered into bonded customs warehouses for storage and imported ores and crude metals, such as copper, lead, and zinc, entered into warehouses bonded for smelting and refining, plus commodities such as wheat and petroleum products entered directly into bonded manufacturing warehouses for further processing to be subsequently withdrawn for exportation. Entries into bonded customs warehouse, for storage until withdrawn for consumption, are not published according to commodities in these statistics. The total values of such entries and a distribution by countries are included in tables where a general import figure is recorded (tables II, III, IV, and VI).

3. Imports by mail.-Single shipments by mail into the United States Customs Area valued at $100 and over are included in these statistics.

4. Informal entries excluded.-Merchandise entered on informal entries is not included in statistics for 1938 except for the Virgin Islands. For certain districts such entries were included in the statistics prior to December 9, 1937, and for several commodities retailed across the Canadian and Mexican borders, such transactions represented an appreciable part of the import trade. Certain transactions, considered as noncommercial-passenger baggage, merchandise temporarily imported under bond for export within 6 months-animals, and poultry for breeding; circuses, merchandise for exhibition or competition for prizes, containers for gases, models of wearing apparel, government supplies, samples, etc. are also excluded from the import statistics.

VALUATION

The value of imports of merchandise is stated on the import entry and consular invoice, in accordance with section 402 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Except as provided in the tariff act, such value is the "market value or the price, at the time of exportation of such merchandise to the United States, at which such or similar merchandise is freely offered for sale to all purchasers in the