Evening star., 1948-10-17
Europe's Trade
Loosening Up

AOOoCl1111S 5 W
Red.Dominated Nations
Now Offering Goods
to the West
By Sierid Arne
For the time being at least, the
trade block between East and West
Europe seems to be breaking up.
Goods are again being offered by
the Eastern European nations, domi.
mated by Russia, to the Western Eu-
ropeans being helped by us.
East-West trade had dried up te
so small a trickle last year that Gov
ernment world-trade experts feared
Moscow meant to sew up Eastern
Europe into a Soviet block that
would be cut of from the rest Of
the world.
That could be serious for the
Economic Cooperation Administra-
tion, the Marshall planners. ECA
figures that unless West Europe can
buy in the Russian satellite nations
it will cost us another 5000, ,000, 600
to prime the European economy on
top of the $4,000, ,00O,O the United
States has agreed in principle to
spend over the four years of the
Marshall Plan.
Here are some of the deals ECA
trade experts have heard about re-
Gently:
Hungary Has Farm Machinery
Hungary is offering to sell agri-
cultural machinery to Western Eu-
rope and has offered 81 100000 worth
of freight cars to the Anglo -Ameri-
can zone of Germany. Both are
worth their weight in gold in Europe.
Yugoslavia is offering more tim
Der than it can find immediate
takers for, and timber is desperately
needed for houses, factories, schools,
mine props and what not. She is
also back in the market with the
copper, zinc and lead which Euro
pean factories need. ECA hears the
Yugoslavs are even talking Of pay
ing the British something for Brit
ish-dug mines which they have ma
tionalized.
Bulgaria has been selling her most
export, tobacco, to Italy.
Poland is offering more timber
than was expected. Her coal ship
ments to West Europe continue to
go up. Announced Polish coal offer
ings are expected to cover West Eu-
ropes needs for imported coal by
1851.
Czechoslovakia Is selling a wide
range of consumer goods in the
west, only limited amount to Rus
sia. The Czechs' largest trade is
with Switzerland. Czech exports
run from glass to shoes.
The Czechs have one good legacy
from the war. The Germans moved
a good deal of new machinery into
the country, and now the Czechs
are making good use of it.
Likely Supervised
Commerce Department experts
here say Poland, Czechoslovakia
and Yugoslavia appear to have
more freedom in their selling than
Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.
They suspect that all exports
from the satellite nations have
overall approval from Moscow
They also suspect that more free
dom has been granted the Poles
Czechs and Yugoslavs because the
Communists have an uncertain hold
on those countries. If that's true
they say, the level of living must
go up there or the people will be
hard to control.
One thing that might influence
the Soviet bloc to trade with West
ern Europe is that 1t needs the
made by the trained, in
dustrial workers of the west. To
buy in the West the Russian bloc
must sell there.
On the other hand, West Europe
has always got much of its bread
grains, tobacco, timber and minerals
from the Soviet satellites. If that
trade should dry up West Europe
would have to find new places to buy
and sell-which ECA says would cost
us another $4,000, 900, 900 in four
years.
For the long pull, will the east
west trade last? Or will Moscow
clang down the iron curtain once
her bloc has enough factories going
and enough trained factory hands?
Report Is Sign Post
No one knows. There is one sign
post in the recent report of the
United Nations Economic Commit
tee for Europe. That committee
found out that most of the satellite
nations intend to cut down the
they devoted to grains.
They want to raise more fodder
20 they can increase their poultry
and livestock, and they want more
which will take some of
their labor of the farms.
The question at ECA is:
"Will they cut down on grain so
much that they will have little to
,ell to Western Europe? If so. how
AN Western Europe sell more to
he overseas grain-raising countries
70 it can foot its bills for food?'
No one knows the answer here.
But there is a hunt on for new trade
,hannels for Europe in case the iron