From: CP6uH@plains.NoDak.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia
Subject: Interview: Dagmar Suster ( VREME NDA 22 Jul 1992 )
Date: 22 Jul 92 19:20:09 GMT
Organization: University of North Dakota at Grand Forks


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     "Vreme" News Digest Agency                       No. 43, July 20, 1992
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    Interview: Dagmar Suster
    ------------------------


                                 LIFE GOES ON


           The fact that Slovenia managed to cooperate economically
           with Macedonia,  Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia  and Montenegro
           at  a time  when no  kind of  communications existed and
           when  a war  was being  waged, to  me, is something that
                           borders on the miraculous

    We  talked with  Dagmar Suster,  former Vice-President  of the  Yugoslav
    Chamber of Commerce (whose fate had to be that of a successor of Federal
    Prime Minister  Ante Markovic) and  today Vice-President of  the Slovene
    Chamber  of  Commerce,  about  the  economic  trends  between the former
    Yugoslav republics in these times of war.

    We have,  lately, been hearing  contradictory assessments regarding  the
    importance of  the "southern" markets  to Slovenia's economy.  First, it
    was said that  Slovenia markets only four percent of  its exports in the
    "south".  One week  after the  embargo, entirely  different figures were
    given,  accompanied  by  Slovene  Television  reports  on  firms  which,
    suddenly,  are sustaining  heavy losses  because of  the embargo against
    Serbia and Montenegro.

    In  1990,  Slovenia  sold  one  fourth  of  its  products  to  the other
    republics. It  is totally senseless to  say that the southern  market is
    not important to  Slovenia. The sales to that  market, and therefore its
    importance to Slovenia, objectively decreased  in the past two years; in
    1991,  Slovenia sold  only 17.3  percent of  its products,  and only  10
    percent from  October to December 1991.  The figures are about  the same
    for  the first  months of  this year.  All this  shows that Yugoslavia's
    economic disintegration  has its price and  that all parts will  have to
    cover that loss somehow. Nobody is going to come out this untouched.

    The fact that Slovenia managed to cooperate economically with Macedonia,
    Bosnia,  Croatia,  Serbia  and  Montenegro  at  a  time  when no kind of
    communications  existed  and  when  a  war  was  being  waged, to me, is
    something that  borders on the  miraculous. When all  is said and  done,
    this shows  the vitality of these  economies and the common  interest in
    promoting cooperation. In  the first four months of  this year, Slovenia
    sold around 331  million dollars' worth of goods  to Serbia, Montenegro,
    Macedonia  and  Bosnia-Herzegovina,  and  purchased  around  218 million
    dollars'  worth of  goods. These  are not  large figures,  but given the
    circumstances,  they  are  considerable.  It  is  more  than likely that
    Slovenia  will never  trade in  these markets  as it  used to,  but I am
    convinced  that there  is not  one economic  reason why such cooperation
    should  be suspended.  I think  that we  will cooperate  in the  future,
    perhaps even at a higher level,  when the obstacles currently in our way
    are eliminated.  Even now, although  nobody writes about  it, we have  a
    mild "common economic space" or a  "free trade zone" in the new Yugoslav
    states. For example, Slovenia does not charge any duty on goods imported
    from the former Yugoslav republics. We demand reciprocity there, so that
    our exports to the other republics are not burdened by taxes, either.

    Do you think that the Serbian  and Montenegrin markets will be important
    to  Slovenia after  the sanctions,   as well?  There are  forecasts that
    Slovenia's place in Serbia and Montenegro will be taken over by the more
    competitive Germany and Austria.

    I am convinced that we will  continue to promote cooperation between our
    economies  after the  sanctions, too.  As regards  competition, Slovenia
    sold 254 million dollars' worth of goods to Germany by the end of April.
    In the same  period, we sold Italy goods worth  171 million dollars, and
    France  goods   worth  150  million  dollars,   despite  the  fact  that
    competition  there  is  considerable,   because  Japanese  and  American
    companies have  to be taken  into account, in  addition to the  problems
    posed by  the closed nature of  the European market. If  we have made it
    there, there  is no reason  why we should  not sell our  products on the
    Serbian and Montenegrin markets, and also buy certain products there. In
    addition to all this, Serbia is nearby, at least three times nearer than
    France,  for  instance.  And  this  is  not  unimportant.  Finally, many
    facilities were  made in former  Yugoslavia which counted  on the entire
    market.  That is  why I  advocate leaving  these things  to the business
    people,  in  more  peaceful  times.  They  will  certainly  find  common
    interests.

    If it had been up to us,  Yugoslavia, as an economic entity, would never
    have fallen  apart, even if it  took six or sixteen  different states to
    keep it together.

    Is  Slovenia's present  reorientation  to  Western markets  a short-term
    solution, the result of necessity, or is it a lasting trend?

    Our economy's Western orientation is a  lasting one, because we lost the
    Iraqi, Soviet  and Yugoslav markets. In  the last quarter of  last year,
    Slovenia exported as  much as one fourth of its  goods to those markets,
    but  that is  too little.  If we  take into  account the former Yugoslav
    market, we  exported only some 35  percent, and 65 percent  was left for
    the domestic market.  This is a pathological picture  of the economy; we
    have to switch these percentages in the next few years.

    What   about  cooperation   with  Croatia?   Croatian  companies   have,
    reportedly,  been receiving  orders from  official bodies  to reduce the
    amount of Slovene goods purchased as much as possible.

    In the past four months, Slovenia exported 231 million dollars' worth of
    goods to Croatia,  which means that Croatia is  our second largest trade
    partner, after  Germany. One must point  out some specific circumstances
    in Slovene-Croatian trade.  For years, a trade surplus  has been present
    on the Slovene side, which  has become problematic with the introduction
    of two  new but unconvertible  currencies. The balance  between Slovenia
    and Croatia can be paid and settled, but a lot of good will is required.

    At  one point,  you were  to  succeed  Ante Markovic  as Yugoslav  Prime
    Minister. Are you glad that you did  not take over that post? What would
    you have done differently had you been in Markovic's place?

    The idea  to take over the  role of Prime Minister  came too late, since
    Yugoslavia's fate was  already sealed. That is why I  do not regret that
    it did not come true, regardless of the fact that I would certainly have
    tried to change  the course of events. For example,  one of my ideas (my
    associates  know  about  it)  was  to  place  a  two  year moratorium in
    Yugoslavia  on  political  decisions,  so  as  to  resolve  the economic
    problems. I  wanted to pacify  things in order  to reach agreement  on a
    peaceful,  political solution  to all  problems. However,  all the talks
    that  I  conducted  with  the  various  republican leaders revealed that
    nobody  was really  interested in  that. Even  though I  do not mind not
    becoming Federal  Prime Minister last year,  I have to admit  (I will be
    slightly  immodest) that  I am  sorry I  was not  offered such  a chance
    earlier,  when things  were not  that far  gone. As  regards Markovic, I
    criticize him for pursuing an erroneous economic policy and making moves
    when things were already on an edge,  even though one cannot say that he
    did everything he wanted to -  badly. History will probably show that he
    believed too  strongly in a  compact Yugoslavia, a  country that was  an
    illusion even at  the time when he took over  as Prime Minister. That is
    why I frequently ask myself, would I have succeeded in changing anything
    in  such  a  situation?  I  probably  would  not.  I spent my whole life
    focusing  on  economic  policy,  not  on  politics  which was Markovic's
    undoing. And now, things are as they are. Life must go on.

                                                     Svetlana Vasovic-Mekina


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     "Vreme" News Digest Agency                       No. 43, July 20, 1992
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