Trade to East Washington, Jan. 3.
American foreign trade, suffering Jalready from.weakened markets in Europe and South America, faces Jo new menace in the Far East—a Crinese "Nationalist high "tari 'This bortier, combined with the steep. drop in Chinese silver prices, virtually doubling' the cost of Am jean goods.to Chinese "buyers, is alarming trade officials here. They fear the full stream of American exports to China may dwindle, This prospect is particularly disconcertting to them at this time economists "hold a lively foreign trade is necessary to absorb out overproduction.
American envoys in China have been informed, by American wf cials, however, that America has Ino Jegal recourse against the new tariff rates, ce long as they are applicable to all countries alike, American trade with China is larger than that with any other Far Eastern country, save Japan, In 1929, the United States sold wheat, tobacco, gasoline, lumber, rails, automobiles, industrial machinery and other products worth '$155,700,000 to China. Exports to Japan were worth $£59,000,000, Even last year, without very high tariffs, trade with both of these [Oriental countries declined under the 1928 figures—that with Japan by. 10 per cent., with China six per ent.
The new Chinese tariff was not! unexpected, Ever since the State Department concluded its 1928} treaty restoring China's' tariff autoals have known the young.
Honalist Government would, in time, take advantage of its new rights.
Apart from the new tariff, American trade in China has been Jcurtailed during the last year by a sharp drop in Chinese silver prices.
One official pointed out the con-Jerete effect of the silver drop. An American automobile retailing for $2,000 could be bought by a Chinese two years ago for something less than $4,000-in Chinese silver. The same ear now would cost him near '$8,000 Chinese silver.
The, new] ai tariff will boost this price even higher, it is expected, with serious exporters
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.