The European nations had all but exhausted their foreign exchange reserves during the war, and the Marshall Plan aid represented almost their sole means of importing goods from abroad.
欧洲国家在二战中几乎消耗光了他们的所有外汇储备，因此马歇尔计划带来的援助几乎是他们从国外进口商品的唯一外汇来源。