The Wilmington morning star., 1944-03-22

British and Russian governments
that no more gold will be bought
unless cleared of Axis connection
raises the question of trade be-
tween the European neutrals and
the Axis countries.
The five independent nations Of
Europe-Sweden, Turkey, Switzer-
land, Spain and Portugal - have
maintained with Germany and Ger.
man-dominated states trade rela-
tons of varied extent and char
acter, says the National Geogra-
phic Society.
Available information on the
neutrals' commercial activities
ranges from the frequent reports
on recent Swedish-German agree
ments down to several years
blank in official trade figures from
some of the other nations.
Delivery requirements differ
widely. Turkey insists on receipt
of goods before making exchange.
The Swedes, under the terms of
a January, 1914, agreement, al
firm the right to reduce their
shipments in proportion to Ger
man failure in delivery. The Span
ish government, by recent settle
ment of its debt to Germany for
civil-war aid, has made available
an account against which to bal
ance Spanish exports.
Sweden's leading exports to
Germany include iron ore, tim
Der, wood pulp, and other forest
products. Germany sends Sweden
coal and coke, iron and steel
goods, pig iron, chemicals, and
textiles. According to the January
agreement, the Germans in 1914
will also continue shipments of
rolled iron and some much-need-
ed buna (synthetic) rubber.
Hemmed in by German and Ger
man-dominated territory, Sweden
is one of the worlds big iron ore
producers, with deposits either
rich in content or outstandingly
high in quality. Prewar output
amounted to nearly IA million tons.
of which Germany took as much
as IL million tons.
German purchases of Swedish
iron ore in 1913 were estimated
in the press at ten million tons,
a slight increase over those Of the
three previous years. The new
trade agreement, however, pro-
-vided for a cut in Germany's quo
ia. Since all trade is now on
compensation basis, without Gre
dit on either side, this cut called
for corresponding reduction in
allotments to Sweden of German
coal and coke.
The new figure of four million
tons is considerably short of the
estimated amount needed for Swe-
denis industrial use alone. Before
the war. Sweden imported more
than twice. the present coal and
coke ration. Most of it came from
Great Britain, with small guam
titles from Poland and Germany.
At the other end of Europe, Tur-
key-long wooed by Allies and
Axis-has h0on exporting to Ger
many chrome, copper and other
minerals, foodstuffs, tobacco, cot
ton. and opium. For opium ship
ped, Germany exchanges a COM
parable quantity of atabrine, syn
thetic substitute for malaria
fighting quinine. More substantial
German items include railway
equipment, ornaments. iron and
steel products, dyestuffs, chemi-
Gals.
Turkish trade with Germany
Qarger than that of the other,
closer Axis countries) is chiefly
on a barter basis. although some
special commodities, such as
chrome, have been paid for in
foreign exchange. In 1943 Turkey
sharply increased it's quota of fish
for German markets at the same
time reducing such commodities
as beans, chick peas, and millet.
War-useful chrome is Turkeys
most valuable export to the Axis,
with Germany getting all supplies.
Second in bulk. valonia Can acorn
product used in tanning leather)
is shipped to Bulgaria, Germany
and Hungary. Turkish copper. pig
iron, oil seeds, and nuts are other
commodities consigned to the Axis
bloc.
In the reverse trade stream.
Turkey has compensation agree
ment to take from Hungary such
varied items as textiles, iron and
steel products, radios, chemicals.
1t buys Rumania's petroleum, and
Bulgarian tobacco, cereals and
wine.
Landlocked in the heart of Nazi-
held Europe. without seaports of
its own, Switzerland has special
trade headaches. It's goods, now
denied Italian outlet, must pass
through ports of German-occupied
France, Spain or Portugal. They
must make use of German-con-
trolled overland transport, even
to reach Switzerland's small mer-
chant fleet.
A clearing agreement in 1941
provided for German export to
Switzerland of such vitally-need-
ed products as coal, iron and steel