56 SOCIAL SCIENTIST scale into two main groups. The first group of transnationals consists of trusts and concerns with overseas assets* While remaining nMtidntf in respect of their capital, they become international in relation to their sphere of operation. Examples are the US Standard Oil of New Jersey (whose overseas sales constitute 68 per cent of its total volume of sales, and which operates subsidiaries in 60 countries), International Telephone and Telegraph (overseas sales—47 per cent of the total and subsidiaries in 60 countries) and United Shoe Machinery (overseas sales—54 per cent of the total and subsidiaries in 25 countries). Of the west European transnational monopolies the largest include British Petroleum and Imperial Chemicals, the West German Volkswagen, Siemens and Hocchcst, the Italian Monte-dison, the Swiss Nestl6, the French Renault and Compagnic Francaise de Petrole. The second group of international trusts belongs to cg^pitalfsts not of one but of two or more countries. Their share capital is spread over several countries and the board of directors is multtfratfamal. Such, for example, arc the Anglo-Dutch chemical and food concern Umtever, ^hich owns shares in 600 firms in 50 capitalist countries, and Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell which controls over 500 firms in various parts of the world. Of the international trusts aaAcorporatiQns formed after the Second World War mention should be made of the West (Serman-Bclgiaft Agfa Oevaert photochcmicals trust, the Anglo-Italian Dunlop-Pirelli rdbber technical concern. West German-Dutch FFW-Fokkcr aircraft and Franco-Italian Fiat-Citrocn automobile corporations. Lews of Neocolonialism The growing importance of the transnational and international trusts and concerns in the world capitalist economy is reflected in the rapid growth of the volume of "international" production, measured in-terms of the turnover of enterprises controlled by foreign capital. This output is increasing at an annual average rate of 10 per cent, which is approximately double the growth rate of production in the capitalist countries. In the .mid-1960s the volume of such production according to some estimates totalled more than $180,000 million, of which $110,000 million were accounted for by US corporations, $ 63,000 million by west European, $6,500 million by Canadian and about $ 2,000 by Japanese concerns. While formally abiding by the laws of the countries where their -enterprises operate, the international corporations reserve to themselves the right to decide arbitrarily questions such as a change in the volume of output, the building of new enterprises or closing down of those in operation, specialization m production, and the choice of suyipUers and buyers. All these factors exercise a substantial influence on the general state of th& economy of the country where international monopolies operate, especially in such areas as employment, balance of payments, volume and orientatioit of foreign trade, and so on. This can be easily observed by examination of the operations of the subsidiaries of US transnational monopolies in