of the textile machinery exported by the principal producing
countries. On the basis of the first eight months of 1930 that
percentage has fallen to 41-5 per cent.
Germany, who before the war supplied 36 per cent., now
supplies 39-3 per cent. and America who supplied 2-8 per cent. now
supplies 8-2 per cent.
Similarly, with machine tools the British share before the war
was 11:5 per cent., it is now 83 per cent. The American share
was 37-6 per cent., it is now 42.3 per cent.
For agricultural machinery our share in 1913 was 21-7 per
cent., it is now 5-7 per cent., whilst America has gone forward
from 61-3 per cent. to 83:1 per cent.
In 1925 this country gained supremacy as the greatest exporter
of electrical machinery and it succeeded in maintaining that position
until 1929; but on the basis of information available for the
first eight months of 1930 America has forged ahead of us, and
Germany, who in 1913 held supremacy, is challenging both countries
closely.
An examination of this aspect of the question is contained in
Appendix “C”
FOREIGN COMPETITION.
Despite suggestions to the contrary by some Government
authorities and misleading suggestions in a part of the popular
Press, abnormal unemployment prevails in every one of the
principal manufacturing industries of the country.
The main fact over the whole range of British Industry is that
costs of production are too high to enable products to be sold.
Mr. Lloyd George stated, in his recent pamphlet dealing with un-
employment, that in order that Industry may recover it is necessary
that over the whole range its costs should be reduced about 10 per
cent.
In Engineering, foreign prices are from 2} per cent. fo 40 per
cent. below British, according to the kind of goods produced.