300 
Modern Business Geography 
ducers’ profit on the raw materials, but a manufacturers’ profit on the 
finished products. This plan would require the United States either 
to win from Europe the markets that Europeans now supply with 
z0ods made from our surplus raw materials, or to develop new markets. 
Both are difficult to do. Europe, through long experience, under- 
stands many foreign markets better than we do and has a great supply 
of skilled labor that is willing to work for lower wages than our own 
workmen. Moreover, Europe excels the United States in training 
her boys and girls for commerce and industry. On the other hand, 
it is very difficult to arouse a people like the Chinese so that they will 
provide a new market, even though this would be to their advantage. 
Nevertheless, a larger percentage of our population is turning to manu- 
facturing, and our exports of foodstuffs are relatively declining. Soon 
our industries will use a large part of the raw materials which we pro- 
duce, and Europe will have to look elsewhere for her supply. 
Great Britain as a market. Among individual European countries, 
Great Britain is by far the greatest market of the United States. Each 
year our total trade with her amounts to much more than one billion 
dollars. Great Britain takes a fifth or a sixth of our exports and sup- 
plies us with a twelfth of our imports. This enormous trade is handled 
by the largest and swiftest steamers of the world’s most important 
transportation lines. No other pair of nations except Canada and 
the United States are such important customers of one another. 
The cotton manufacturing industry of Great Britain — her greatest 
industry — is based upon our raw cotton, for we supply about half of 
all that the country consumes, and used to supply still more. This is 
the greatest single item in our whole export trade. 
Our exports of foodstuffs to Great Britain are gradually dropping 
off, because while our needs are increasing at home, Great Britain is 
able to procure an increasing supply from her colonies — especially 
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — and from Argentina. It is 
likely that our exports of cotton to Great Britain will diminish simi- 
larly, but more gradually; for India, Egypt, and British East Africa 
are increasing their supply for the mother country. 
Germany as a market. Next to Great Britain, Germany normally 
stands highest as a consumer of our goods. In the last year before 
the World War, one seventh of our total exports went to Germany and 
one tenth of our imports came from that country. The goods we send 
to Germany are about the same as those we send to Great Britain — 
foodstuffs and raw materials for industries, especially cotton and 
copper.