Beyond the Iron Curtain, we can now see a New Frontier of hope and opportunity where we once saw an oppressive adversary. The potential of the New Frontier is enormous. The Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Bulgaria, and Romania have a combined population of over 400 million people. The countries have vast natural resources. Much of their labor force is centered around urban areas, and is skilled.
Wage rates are low.
The combined Gross Domestic Product of these countries is currently equal to that of the EEC, although the per capita productivity and standard of living is only a fraction of that of developed nations. Trillions of dollars will have to be invested in these countries for their standard of living to begin to approach that of Western Europe. With successful development, these countries, together with Western Europe, could someday produce more goods and services than that of the United States and Japan put together. For any international company the New Frontier therefore has to represent an enticing opportunity. It isn't every day that a few hundred million potential new customers appear.