Economic Defense of Latin America

Report Outline
The Economic Threat from the Totalitarian Powers
Western Hemisphere Commerce Since 1939
Financial Relations Between the Americas
Expansion of Inter-American Economic Collaboration
Special Focus

The Economic Threat from the Totalitarian Powers

While the American people continue to hope that a Nazi victory can be prevented by largely increasing the supplies of war materials being furnished to Great Britain, the government at Washington is formulating plans to cope with economic attack against the Western Hemisphere if the totalitarian powers should dominate all of Europe when the war comes to a close.

President Roosevelt made it clear to the world in his broadcast address of May 27 that the United States has plans to thwart any Axis effort to obtain a foothold at bases from which nations of North or South America could be subjected to military attack. Defense against economic attack likewise requires advance preparation. Some steps to guarantee the economic integrity of Latin America have already been taken; other projects for cooperation in the fields of trade and finance are at present in the stage of active development.

The reality of the economic threat which would follow a Nazi victory in Europe has been demonstrated by the aggressive campaign for Latin American trade which was being waged by Germany before the war began, and by Nazi success in using economic penetration to dominate southeastern Europe. A British observer, writing in the very early days of the war, gave the following description of German commercial objectives: