War Trade Board

War Trade Board
Name	War Trade Board
Formation	1917
Dissolved	1920
Jurisdiction	United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Chief1 name	A. P. Andrews
Chief1 position	Chairman
Parent department	Executive Office of the President

War Trade Board was a United States federal agency created during World War I to administer and enforce controls on neutral and belligerent trade, manage export and import restrictions, and coordinate economic warfare against the Central Powers. It operated at the intersection of diplomatic initiatives such as the Treaty of Versailles negotiations and domestic legislation including the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917. Its actions influenced postwar instruments like the League of Nations economic policymaking and informed later bodies such as the Office of Price Administration.

Background and Establishment

The board emerged amid crises following the Lusitania sinking and the escalation of submarine warfare by the Imperial German Navy, which precipitated U.S. entry into World War I under President Woodrow Wilson. Prior debates in the United States Congress and consultations with the Department of State, Department of the Treasury, and Department of Commerce (United States) focused on balancing neutrality concerns with wartime exigencies exemplified by prior measures like the Embargo Act of 1807 and precedents from the British Board of Trade. Established by presidential direction and empowered by statutes including provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, the board coordinated with the Council of National Defense and the War Industries Board to implement comprehensive wartime controls.

Organization and Leadership

Structurally, the board brought together figures from the Department of Justice, United States Navy, United States Army, and private industry representatives drawn from firms such as J.P. Morgan & Co. and United Fruit Company. Chaired initially by A. P. Andrews, it included legal advisers from the Solicitor General of the United States’s office and liaisons to the Treasury Department and the State Department. Regional offices cooperated with customs collectors at ports like New York Harbor and San Francisco Bay, and with diplomatic missions including the United States Embassy in London and the United States Embassy in Paris. The board’s staff consisted of lawyers, economists, and naval intelligence officers who coordinated with the Office of Naval Intelligence and the American Red Cross on humanitarian exclusions.

Powers and Functions

The board’s authority derived from wartime legislation and executive orders, granting it licensing power over exports and imports, seizure authority comparable to that used in past crises such as the War of 1812, and regulatory oversight of neutral commerce involving belligerent nations like Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. It issued licenses to firms including DuPont and Bethlehem Steel Corporation and negotiated with shipping companies such as the White Star Line and Hamburg America Line through intermediary arrangements with the United States Shipping Board. The board coordinated with the Inter-Allied Economic Council and foreign offices including Foreign Office (United Kingdom) representatives to harmonize blockade and contraband lists, and worked alongside courts like the Supreme Court of the United States when legal challenges arose.

Wartime Activities and Operations

Operationally, the board administered export controls on munitions, chemicals, and foodstuffs destined for Europe, working with manufacturers and brokers from Standard Oil to Westinghouse Electric. It pursued interdiction of shipments to neutral ports serving the Central Powers and collaborated with the Royal Navy and U.S. Navy to implement convoy and inspection protocols initiated after consultations with Admirals and figures linked to the Battle of Jutland aftermath. The board supervised the redirection of raw materials to Allied industry, coordinated relief consignments with agencies like the American Relief Administration under leaders such as Herbert Hoover, and tracked financial transactions involving banks like National City Bank to prevent circumvention. Enforcement actions included seizures and prosecutions pursued with the Department of Justice and adjudicated in federal district courts across circuits such as the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Legal and Economic Impact

Legally, the board’s directives tested constitutional limits and influenced jurisprudence concerning wartime powers and commercial liberties, echoing issues raised in cases related to the Espionage Act of 1917 and later arguments in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer precedents. Economically, its rationing and licensing contributed to shifts in global supply chains, affecting commodity prices on exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and influencing industrial policy discussions in the Bureau of Corporations and at conferences like the Paris Peace Conference, 1919. Its coordination with financial institutions and the Federal Reserve System affected credit flows to Europe and reparations debates that intertwined with the Dawes Plan and later Young Plan.

Criticism and Controversies

Controversies centered on perceived overreach, selective enforcement favoring large firms such as U.S. Steel and General Electric, and tensions with civil liberties advocates including members of the American Civil Liberties Union. Critics in the United States Senate and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs alleged favoritism and inadequate oversight, while foreign diplomats from countries like Sweden and the Netherlands protested neutral trade restrictions. Legal challenges brought by merchants and shipping interests, represented by firms such as Brown Shipbuilding proxies, raised questions in federal courts and prompted Congressional hearings that compared the board’s actions to British blockades enforced by institutions like the Ministry of Shipping.

Category:United States home front during World War I Category:1917 establishments in the United States