611.8331/118
The Egyptian Legation to the Department of State
Aide-Mémoire
The trade between Egypt and the United States has decreased to a remarkable degree during the past few years. In order to give an idea of the extent of this decline, the following statistics may be quoted:—
The yearly average for the entire trade between Egypt and the United States for the five years 1924–1928 was £E9,090,000. Of this sum £E2,270,000 represented imports from the United States and £E6,820,000 was for exports from Egypt to the United States.
During the following years the figures went down until in 1937 the trade between the two countries was represented by an amount of £E3,704,000, of which £E2,143,000 was for imports from the United States and only £E1,561,000 for Egyptian exports to the United States—in other words instead of an annual surplus for Egypt of £E4,550,000 in her trade with the United States, the position was reversed and the year 1937 showed a deficit of about £E550,000.
The statistics also reveal that the value of United States exports during 1937 almost regained the position they held before the world economic crisis. In 1924–1928 United States exports were £E2,270,000 and in 1937 they were £E2,143,000, while the values of exports from Egypt to the United States were as follows:
| 1924–1928 | £E6,820,000 |
| 1937 | £E1,561,000 |
This sharp drop in Egyptian exports indicates in a striking manner the result of United States taxes which hit Egyptian exports of cotton, manganese and onions severely. These three products were the principal Egyptian exports to the United States—in fact they constitute the chief Egyptian exports as a whole.
The yearly average of Egyptian exports of cotton during the period 1925–1929 was £E6,543,617, while in 1937 it dropped to £E994,660. In 1929 the figure for manganese was £E96,797, but this product no longer appears in the trade statistics between Egypt and the United States. As regards onions, in 1927 the amount was £E166,842 and in 1937 it had dropped to £E14,819.
The most unfortunate aspect of this situation is the fact that Egypt has no other possible item for export which could compensate for the decline in her trade with the United States.
It may also be mentioned that Egypt has not raised any of her Customs duties which would particularly affect American imports.