America's recognized world-power status came with an economic interest in the First World War's outcome. Neutrality allowed American firms to profit by selling to belligerents, but that advantage could not last indefinitely. As the fighting exhausted European states, their ability to buy American goods after the war would shrink. An economy expanded around wartime exports could then face a severe loss of customers. This argument gives the United States an economic reason to want the conflict ended quickly.
Notable Point · 1:57:42-1:58:22
Why prolonged neutrality threatened American trade in World War I
Neutral trade produced short-term profits, but a prolonged war risked impoverishing the foreign customers on whom American production depended.