Under the reciprocity of the McKinley Tariff law, Cuba and the United States were brought more closely together in commercial union than ever before in their history. No more competent testimony on this point can be adduced than the following extract from the report for 1892 of the British Consul-General at Havana:
“It will be seen from the above article” [on the lack of reliable statistics] “that the difficulty—especially to a new-comer—of forming anything like a clear and accurate view of the commercial movement of the district is next door to impossible. But, unfortunately, there is one feature of a very unsatisfactory nature which stands out prominently and did not take long to discover, namely, that British trade with Cuba has almost become a thing of the past; and under the recent reciprocity treaty the United States of America practically supplies all the wants of the Island and receives all its produce....
“Machinery, which formerly was largely supplied by England, Germany, France, and Belgium, now nearly all comes from the United States; and the machinery required for the vast amount of sugar manufactured in Cuba is immense and of great value....
“The reciprocity treaty between Spain and the United States would appear to be mainly beneficial to the latter nation. Articles such as machinery, iron, steel, coal, etc., which formerly came principally from Europe and continue to pay duty when imported from those countries, are admitted free of duty when coming from America, so that the former trade is fast disappearing, although some articles of English manufacture and of superior quality are still able to compete, notwithstanding the duty. The free admission of flour makes bread cheaper, but this is the only article which seems reduced in price. The free admission of Cuban sugar into the large markets of the United States is, of course, the great inducement for Spain to enter into an arrangement by which she sacrificed a considerable portion of her customs revenue....
“The effect of the recent reciprocity treaty between the United States and Spain in regard to her West Indian colonies has been to throw nearly the entire Cuban trade into the hands of the United States traders, with whom importers of goods from less favoured nations cannot compete, having to pay, by the terms of such a treaty, higher import duties.”
As a further indication of the benefit of reciprocity between Cuba and the United States, and as a working suggestion of the commercial possibilities presented to the business interests of this country, the following extract from an article on the “Commercial Relations between Cuba and the United States,” by Mr. E. Sherman Gould, in the Engineering Magazine for July, 1894, is given:
“The value of the sugar exported to the United States has no doubt frequently reached, if not surpassed, the sum of $60,000,000 in a single year. At any rate, it will surely be safe to estimate the total yearly value of all exports from Cuba to this country at that figure. This large sum must be paid back to Cuba either in money or in exchange of commodities. In regard to this alternative we must recall the fact that Cuba has no manufactures of any account except cigars; that all the implements and machinery used in sugar-making and all the textile fabrics used for clothing, and even many articles of food, such as breadstuffs, butter, salt meats, and ‘canned goods’ must come from abroad. That is to say, $60,000,000 worth of exports are sent by a country without manufactures to the greatest manufacturing country in the world, and one in which the danger of ‘over-production’ is supposed to be a standing menace. Under these circumstances the mere statement of the question, ‘How should these imports be paid for?’ carries its answer with it.
“In this connection the following table, compiled from the records of the United States Treasury at Washington, and showing the total value of exports from the United States to Cuba for two different years will be of great interest, especially as it gives an idea of the varied character of American products which already find a market in the latter country.
“This table shows that the balance of trade is largely against us, assuming our imports from Cuba to reach $60,000,000. There is evidently room in the Island for at least thirty millions more of American goods. The table shows also that about one-half of the value of our exports in 1893 consisted of breadstuffs, provisions, etc., while wood and woodwork amounted to about one-eighth, and coal, iron, hardware, and machinery entered the list for about a quarter of the total amount.