7. COMMERCE OF BRAZIL. The new civil code of Brazil which went into effect on 1 Jan. 1917 contains numerous provisions favor ing certain classes of American business. Mr. O. P. Austin, after referring to improved com mercial conditions in South America generally in 1915, writes (in The Americas, Vol. II, No. 2) that the improvement was less sharply marked in Brazil than in Argentina "by reason of the fact that prices of the articles which form Brazil's chief exports, coffee and rubber,' were lower in 1915 than in 1914. Reports cov ering the seven months ending with July 1915 showed, as the total value of the exports for those months, $132,800,000 against $149,500,000 in the same months of 1914. Imports for the seven months amounted to but $81,000,000 against $130,000,000 in the corresponding period of 1914, and $199,000,000 in the same months of 1913. of the trade of Brazil, like those of Argentina,' Mr. Austin continues, "are more favorable to the United States than to the other countries, especially in imports. The United States is, in fact, the chief country from which the imports show an increase. The total value of imports from the principal countries for the six months' period ending with June 1915 are, from Great Britain, $15, 375,000 against $25,850,000 in the same months of 1914; from Germany, $1,875,000 against $23, 700,000; from France, $3,230,000 against $10, 123,000, while from the United States the total for the six months of 19J5 was $18,250,000 against $16,300,000 in the corresponding period in 1914. Exports in the six months ending with June 1915 are, to Great Britain, $17,957,000 against $21,500,000 in the same months of last year; to France, $13,180,000 against $11,970,000; to Holland,$11,290,000 against $7,100,000, and to Norway, Sweden and Denmark, $13,400,000 against $1,400,000. To the United States, the exports of the six months of 1915 are $44,500, 000 against $49,500,000." The total value of the foreign commerce of Brazil was, for 1912: (imports, $308243,736 and exports 2,794,846); for 1913, $641,593,196 (imports, 26,428,509 and exports, $315,164,687); for 1914, $387,026,430 (imports, $165,556,950 and ex ports, $221,469,480); and the tendencies of the country's foreign trade when effects of the European War were most keenly felt are seen when these figures are placed in immediate con nection with those relating to 1915, as given above. The depression and the reasonably prompt reaction are full of interest. We add now observations made during a longer period, namely, 10 months, in 1915, which show a large increase in the proportion of Brazilian trade held by the United States: In 1913, 1914 and 1915, respectively, the United States took 32 per cent, 40 per cent and 41 per cent (in value) of Brazil's exports. In
the same years 16 per cent, 15 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively, of Brazil's imports were drawn from the United States. Thus, the share of the United States in Brazil's total pur chases nearly doubled in 1915.
Official statistics of Brazil's foreign trade for January-September 1916 give the value of the imports during that period as $137,858,200, contrasted with $106,683,400 for the first nine months of 1915 and $149,542,675 during the first nine months of 1914. Exports totaled $187, 160,725 in January-September 1916, against $173,446,925 and $168,726,425 for the same period in 1915 and 1914 respectively. Theprincipal exports for the 1916 period were: coffee, $96 035,500; rubber, $26,507,825; hides, $12,570,175; cocoa, $9,041,950; tobacco, $6,822,825; yerba mate, $6,686,575; manganese, $5,664,600; frozen meats, $5,275,275, and sugar, $4,019,725. The total imports of wheat flour into Brazil for the first six months of the calendar year 1916 were 143,104,300 pounds, valued at ports of shipment as the equivalent of $4,155,743 United States gold. Of this total quantity Argentina and Uruguay supplied 81,754,134 pounds, value $2, 123,205, and the United States, 59,783,684 pounds, value $1,967,317.
The rapid increase in the frozen-mea• in dustry and the permanent character of this de velopment are clearly shown by the following figures of exports for the first 11 months of 1916 as compared with the corresponding months of 1915: In 1915, 14,686,280 pounds, valued at $1,159,291, were exported; in 1916, 71,268,556 pounds valued at $6,606,732. Of this total of 71,268,556 pounds 30,832,904 pounds were exported from the port of Rio de Janeiro and 40,435,662 pounds from the port of Santos. The destination of this meat was To United States 5,469,220 pounds; France, 9,779,853 ; Great Britain, 11,935,748; Italy, 33,446,732; Gibraltar (to order) 10637,013 pounds. Preliminary data of the republic's commerce for 1916, recently issued by the Brazilian Statistical Bureau, give the value of the exports as $267,706,000 (United States currency) and that of the imports as $196,057,000, making a total foreign trade of $463,376,000, which is larger than In either of the two preceding (war years' The balance of trade ($71,649,000), however, is lower than in 1915, because of increased importations dur ing the following year.
The statstical details of Brazilian trade for 1915 show the change in proportional represen tation of the United States, England and Ger many in Brazil's inbound and outbound com merce as follows: lamosrs 1914 1915 United States 17.5 per cent 32.1 per cent England 23.7 per cent 21.9 per cent Germany 16.1 per cent 1.5 per cent