TRADE ORGANIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES A. Commercial Associations.—Trade organization in Amer ica naturally commenced on the lines of the British system and its independent development since has not fundamentally de parted from those lines. The oldest American commercial or ganization is the New York chamber of commerce which, as has already been stated, was founded in 1768. In the words of its charter, dated 177o, its object was "to carry into execution, en courage and promote by just and lawful ways and means such measures as will tend to promote and extend just and lawful commerce." It has formed the prototype of all the very numer ous chambers of commerce and boards of trade (as some of them are called) which have now been formed in every place of importance throughout the United States. The commercial inter ests of the United States as a whole are represented by the impor tant voluntary organization known as the United States chamber of commerce which is a federation of local chambers of commerce, boards of trade and similar bodies, including a considerable num ber of national trade associations. It is organized into depart ments relating to all the more important aspects of business. Its chief functions are those of co-ordinating and giving effective expression to the views of its member bodies on questions of national policy and of furnishing commercial information.
A number of American chambers of commerce have been estab lished in foreign countries, the earliest of which was the American chamber of commerce in Liverpool dating from 18oi, a body which has now been replaced by the American chamber of com merce in London. The American chamber of commerce in Paris is one of the most important foreign associations on the Conti nent of Europe and there are other American chambers of com merce in Germany, Italy, Spain and Belgium ; also in the chief South American countries and in Mexico. In China there are American chambers of commerce at Peking and at several ports.
American commercial museums such as those at Philadelphia and San Francisco have been founded to assist American manu facturers and merchants in securing wider foreign markets for their products. Besides possessing valuable collections of corn mercial samples the museums have elaborate indexes of foreign customers and of American manufacturers which are available to chambers of commerce and similar bodies.
tariff commission reports upon tariffs.
U.S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.—The bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce is the department of Overseas Trade of the United States—it is the chief source of information of foreign markets for the American exporter, information which it derives from 45 commercial attaches and trade commissioners abroad. There is also a domestic commerce division established in 1923. The bureau is organized similarly to the British department of Overseas Trade on a combined basis of 14 commodity divisions and of three regional sections: Latin American, Far Eastern and European. It publishes weekly Commerce Reports conveying a mass of information on every aspect of foreign trade. Other divisions of the bureau whose titles sufficiently indicate their general function are the finance and investment division, the transportation division, the foreign tariffs division and the division of (foreign) commercial laws, statistics and statistical research. The commercial intelligence division compiles an index of foreign business firms and indicates the general nature and standing of some 75,00o firms.
The bureau maintains local offices in several American cities and has made arrangements with representative chambers of corn merce whereby these are used as local branches of the bureau.
For details see FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.