Evening star., 1946-08-25
y. S. Buyers
TOBe Taken
To GERMANY
Purchase of Exportable
Goods Will Create
Import Credit
By Richard Kasischke

BERLIN, Aug. 24-The American
military government is working on q
plan to bring American buyers to Ger
many to inspect exportable products
with view to increasing export trade
to raise funds to pay for Germanys
vital imports
Roy ]. Bullock, chief of AMG's export
import division who recently returned
from the United States where he showed
samples of light" products available for
export, said he found great interest" in
such items as china, cameras. toys and
leather goods i.
We had plenty of inquiries and lots
of applications from buyers who want
to come to Germany to deal with Ger
man manufacturers" said Mr.. Bullock.
THE problem for the War Department
and the Department of Commerce will
be to try to select the buyers we can
ccommodate-maybe so out of 500 who
would want to come. Or maybe 1t will
be decided to let as many come as want
to-"
Help Meet Debt.
Mr.. Bullock said he thought 1t was
urgent to get made in Germany" pro-
ducts reintroduced as soon as possible
on the American market and to get
American buyers in contact with Ger
man manufacturers. He pointed out that
the proceeds of German sales in the
Anaricor rly H.
helping liquidate the cost of Germany's
mounting bill for food imports from
the United States
II We got Americans over here they
could give the Germans who have been
out OF touch with American tastes and
1ashlons for years, some up-to-dats
guidance on what will sell. They could
give them some ideas of smart merchan-
dlslng which we in military government,
especially with our limited staff, can't
do Mr.. Bullock said
1t Is intended to get number of Ger
man products on American counters in
time for the next Christmas shopping
season, and Mr.. Bullock estimates there's
no time like the present, when the
American market is short of consumer
goods, to bring in German lines.
For instance" he said, II think We
could sell all the German cameras we
could ship right now and at good prices,
whereas couple of years from now it
would be pretty hard breaking into a
hot competitive market"
When American buyers come here
they'll still have to use military govern
| ment as the middle-man in transactions
| With the Germans. This cumbersome
method is necessary. first, because. there
| is no foreign exchange rate and MG
must fix the world market prices for
such German goods as can be sold. The
German manufacturer of a camera, for
instance, is paid in marks at the official
German ceiling price for his product.
Then MG markets the camera for what
it can get in dollars. The dollars are
kept in foreign account outside Ger
many and used to pay for such imports
as Germany needs.
Industry Crippled.
| So far exports from the American
zone have been only trickle compared
to Germany's prewar exports. This has
been due chiefly to Gripping of indus
try by war damage and a subsequent
lack of coal and raw materials. From
the beginning of occupation through
July 81. 1916, contracts had been ne
gotiated for s19,0o00O0 worth of ex-
ports and actual deliveries made on
only $4,750,000. For Germany in 1888
exports ran about one and one-half
billion dollars.
| Only America remains as a good mar.
ket for such products as can be pro-
duced for export in the United States
occupation zone. Germany's neighbors
in Europe are willing to spend dollar
balances only for such heavier products
as machine parts, machine tools and
for chemicals.
When the economic merger of the
| United States and British zones of Ger
many is completed it is expected that
bi-zonal exports will increase, especially
since the British export between sixty
and seventy million dollars worth of
Ruhr coal annually. A bi-zonal export
board will be set up with the task of
| pushing exports to ease the financial
burden of occupation on American and
British taxpayers.
| Distributed by the Associated Press)