400 REPORT ON COOPERATION IN AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE.
From the schedule of a manufacturer of electrical supplies:
Our foreign trade is limited, due to the fact that our line is handled by a
few export agents, who usually “peddle prices” and who usually obtain the
larger profit, leaving little or no profit for the manufacturer.

One manufacturer of belts writes:
Have tried it through commission men and dealers, but they have all proven
failures.

A manufacturer engaged in the production of leather belting
writes *

Our experience in the export business in the past has been that brokers
have handled the proposition and bought where they could buy the cheapest
and pushed our [that is, American] goods that were not the best manufactured
In the United States, and in that way proved detrimental to the manufacturer.
A lumberman writes: ’
Are not big enough to send agents abroad. Dealing through local exporters
generally robs the business of any profit.
AMERICAN COMPETITION FOR FOREIGN TRADE.—A number of replies
state that the result of American competition in certain lines of
foreign trade is so keen that little or no profit is made, and that this
has kept some manufacturers from engaging therein.
A manufacturer of oils, waxes, and greases gives as his reason:
The probability that the competition of the large producers of the goods that
we handle would make any effort fruitless.
A manufacturer of flour states that the fendency of exporters and
commission houses—
# » * {pn their endeavor to use one manufacturer against the other in mak-Ing
 prices * * * to their own gain over and above what would be a legitimate
 margin of profit has made the business undesirable.
Otter pIFFIcULTIES.—The replies, as a whole, do not show that the
difficulty as to language has been such an obstacle as is generally supposed.
 However, a few mentioned this in their replies.
A few manufacturers state that the careful packing that is reuired
 has kept them from engaging in the foreign trade. A manufacturer
 of machinery writes that “the trouble of boxing without
any compensation” Lr same has kept him from going into the
foreign trade.
In several reports manufacturers state that the lack of knowledge
of foreign languages, customs, requirements. etc.. has kept them
from getting foreign business.
A manufacturer of bank fixtures, files, and furniture gives his past
experience as follows, in regard to language and conditions in
oeneral :

We have in the past shipped goods to Mexico and Hungary, but could never
follow these sales up, owing to our ignorance of these languages, the difficultes
 incident to securing proper translations. and our unfamiliarity with the
local conditions.

A manufacturer engaged in the canning industry states:

Our business being canned foods, we need information concerning quantity
shipments, package requirements, quality of goods wanted, peculiar requirements
 of the people whom we are trying to reach, knowledge of laws governing
credits and collections of the particular country or section we might be trying
to reach. and shipping facilities and time required to deliver shipments.