Office of the Historian

660i.116/42

Report by the Vice Consul at Tallinn (Trimble)

[Extract]
No. 79
Tallinn, July 16, 1938.
[Received July 26.]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

II. Summary of Conclusions

Because of the necessarily voluminous nature of a report of this type it would seem advisable to insert at this point a concise summary of the general conclusions reached. For sake of clarity, such conclusions are listed numerically in the following order:

1)
The efforts of the Estonian Government to control through restrictive exchange and license measures imports from countries with which unfavorable trade balances exist have adversely affected the sale of American goods.
2)
The policy of favoring imports from countries which are extensive purchasers of Estonian products has materially assisted the export trades of the principal competitors of the United States in this market, the United Kingdom and Germany.
3)
The afore-mentioned program, although frankly discriminatory in nature, has not been initiated by the Estonian Government on its own volition but has largely been forced upon it by the United Kingdom.
4)
Due to the restrictions placed on competitive goods of American origin, the character of the United States export trade with Estonia is gradually changing, the proportion of the total made up of raw materials increasing annually.
5)
The proposed revision of the import license system will probably not benefit the United States.
6)
With regard to the future, purchases of raw materials necessary for Estonia’s economic welfare will continue to be made in the United States since in most instances they cannot be obtained elsewhere. However, competitive goods of American origin will either be imported in diminishing amounts or their importation will not be permitted to exceed fixed low levels.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .