 foreign trade played an important role in the czechoslovak national economy (as opposed to the soviet union). == history and timeline == === 1945-1953 === the foreign trade enterprises successfully carried out the government's policy of rapidly redirecting the bulk of the country's foreign trade from non-communist countries to communist countries in the period from 1948 to 1953. many observers contended, however, that the new system had seriously adverse effects on the economy. isolating domestic producers of export products--primarily manufactured goods--from developments abroad slowed the introduction of new technology, the upgrading of the appearance of products, and the development of sales and service staffs with adequate parts inventories. isolation hampered the development of export industries and products, reinforcing the autarkic bias of the soviet model. === 1953-1960 === after joseph stalin's death in 1953, czechoslovak trade with western countries gradually revived, although it still was far below prewar levels. more than two-thirds of the foreign trade continued to be with comecon member states. because of its relatively advanced industrial position within comecon, czechoslovakia initially had a secure market for its machinery and equipment exports. as years passed, however, the soviet union absorbed growing portions of czechoslovakia's export capacity and very soon the country came to depend on the soviet union for imports of raw materials as well. === 1960-1980 === by the 1960s, it became clear that the country's dependence on foreign trade was substantial and that a restructuring of the economy was necessary. in the 1970s, the government authorized a number of large enterprises to deal directly, or through affiliations with czechoslovak foreign trade companies, with foreign purchasers of their products. to encourage further export and modernization, the central authorities permitted czechoslovak firms to retain a regulated portion of export proceeds. authorities also acknowledged that the economy seriously lagged behind the non-communist industrialized countries in application of new technologies. in response, they increased imports of western products and processes that incorporated advanced technology. in the mid-1970s, the terms of trade for czechoslovakia began to deteriorate rapidly. in 1975 the pricing system used to set values on imports and exports in trade between communist countries was adjusted to make them more current and closer to world prices. the adjustment raised the price of fuels and raw materials (primarily czechoslovak imports) much more than it did manufactured goods (the country's main export). the same trend manifested itself in trade with western industrialized countries. during the late 1970s, the terms of trade continued to worsen; greater and greater quantities of exports were required to purchase
Czechoslovak_Socialist_Republic Economy_of_Czechoslovakia Foreign_relations_of_Czechoslovakia Foreign_trade_by_country