These countries were also able to liberalize currency and payment arrangements, and move to full current account convertibility, in accordance with Article VIII of the IMF's Articles of Agreement. They were able to take these steps because they had established orderly exchange arrangements, independent currencies, and properly functioning exchange markets. The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, which have joined the OECD, have taken measures to liberalize inward real estate acquisitions and outward long-term portfolio investments. The less advanced countries have made far less progress in liberalizing foreign trade. For example, in 1996, frictions arose between Russia and Ukraine over Ukrainian exports of vodka and sugar, and Russia's imposition of a value-added tax on exports to Ukraine.
Tensions frequently emerge over payment arrears on imports of natural gas.
Export restrictions, in the form of administrative obstacles and arcane bureaucratic procedures for getting goods through customs, are not uncommon on certain products. In Ukraine, for instance, grain exporters' access to transportation, port, and storage facilities remains subject to administrative decisions. The severe debt and external payment problems that plagued the less advanced economies immediately after the dissolution of the former Soviet Union also made it necessary for them to postpone the liberalization of external payments. Future challenges for transition Membership of the Eastern European and former Soviet Union countries in the Bretton Woods institutions signaled the dawn of a new age. The new members finally broke out of their isolation, undertook programs to eliminate their external imbalances and achieve monetary stability, and took steps to integrate themselves into the global trade and payment systems.