2. The competition of local industry with the imports of certain products.
3. The dearness of labour in France, and the consequent cost of manufacture, which in many cases no longer permits us to struggle against our competitors.[78]
4. The imperfection of our equipment for making certain articles.
5. The persistence of our manufacturers in disregarding the tastes of their clientèle.
6. The insufficiency of the credit granted by French manufacturers and merchants as compared with those of other competing countries.
7. The frequent lack of technical knowledge on the part of foreign commercial travellers; a lack which almost always prevents them from benefiting as they should from direct contact with their customers.
8. Finally, in the matter of navigation, the expensive character of our vessels, and the resulting dearness of freight.[79]
[78] The case of France is especially interesting, because her tendency is towards self-sufficiency—the reverse of the policy of nearly all other countries.
[79] See Rapport à M. le Ministre du Commerce sur les causes de la diminution du commerce française dans la République Argentine, 1904.