Gertrude Enderle-Burcel, Dieter Stiefel, Alice Teichova (Hrsg.): Sonderband 9. „Zarte Bande” – Österreich und die europäischen planwirtschaftlichen Länder / „Delicate Relationships” – Austria and Europe’s Planned Economies (2006)
Eduard Kubů: Restoration and Régularisation of Economie Cooperation under the Circumstances of Accelerating Cold War
again stated that Austria was a country of Czechoslovakia’s priority interest.6“ The first phase of the negotiations, taking place on December 20-23, 1955, was not very encouraging for Prague. Austrians only admitted a maximum increase in Austrian exports by 15 percent.60 61 The second phase of the negotiations, which took place on January 3-21, 1956, brought a turnaround. The signed memorandum stated that the framework trade agreement of 29 October 1948 remained in effect. The Czechoslovak delegation achieved a great success because the volume of the trade agreement was increased by 55.5 percent as compared with the previous year, without the coal quota for Austria being increased as compared with previous understandings. This was achieved at the expense of a decrease in the iron ore quota. The new quota lists underwent changes of a structural nature. The machinery item was increased by 3.7 percent for export and, conversely, decreased by 7 percent for import. The item of raw materials and semi-finished products increased by 16.8 percent for export and increased by mere 9.8 percent for import.62 For the Czechoslovak Republic, the unfavourable structure of goods exchange significantly improved. A new stage of mutual economic relations started, featuring their intensification and extension of the fields of cooperation. * * * The development of the trade exchange with Austria reflected the way in which Czechoslovak international trade, which had been dominantly linked to the countries of Central and Western Europe as well as the USA in the first post-war years, was reoriented to the countries of the eastern block led by the USSR in terms of both structure and volume. In accordance with the requirement for “construction of economic independence” or, speaking more precisely, the autarchy of the eastern block, trade with the “capitalist states” was reduced. It was to be narrowed to imports of strategic raw materials, which the East lacked, for production and creating state reserves. The imported supplementary commodities were to comprise raw materials for light industry and food as a consequence of the stagnating agricultural production. Emphasis was also put on the import of some technically and technologically demanding products. Mutual trade exchange was characterised by a strong upward trend during the first post-war years. It is true that after 1948, a downward trend started in Restoration and Régularisation of Economic Cooperation 60 NAP, GPO, Taj né spisy [Secret records] 1945-1959, box 1 545, inventory no. 4 405, Project dated 21.II.1955,no. 3 302. 61 NAP, MFT, Tajné spisy [Secret records] 1955, box no. 1, Rakousko - nezpracované [Austria - uninvented records], Zâznam pro ministra zahraniéniho obchodu z o prübëhu jednàni o obchodni dohodu [Memorandum for the foreign trade minister concerning the realised trade agreement discussions], dated 29.12.1955, without number. 62 NAP, MFT 1945-1968, TD, Rakousko - 1956 [Austria - 1956], dossier Jednàni o dohodu 1956 [Negotiations about the agreement 1956], dated 31.1.1956. 215
