Cash-and-carry required a buyer to arrive with payment and remove its purchase from the United States. The same rule formally applied to Britain and Germany, allowing Washington to present it as neutral. In practice, British shipping could collect cargo while any German attempt had to cross an Atlantic dominated by British sea power. Geography and maritime control gave Britain a material advantage without different legal terms.
Notable Point · 44:54-45:43
Cash-and-carry favored Britain through geography
The rule treated belligerents alike on paper, but only Britain could routinely pay and carry American purchases across the Atlantic.