Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 42. (1992)
NAUTZ, Jürgen: Österreichische Überlegungen zur wirtschaftlichen Integration Europas und zum europäischen Machtgleichgewicht. Die wirtschaftspolitischen Arbeiten Richard Schüllers im amerikanischen Exil 1943–1950
Jürgen Nautz at the level they had reached in Austria-Hungary, as they lost a great part of their farmer markets to which they no longer had free access. The textile, glass and china factories were reduced in number by 30 to 50 percent. Other declining industries were coal, sugar, alcohol and beer, and, to a lesser degree, machine factories. Czechoslovakia’s imports of grains and flour fell from 1,100.000 tons in 1925 to 160.000 tons in 1937. Her imports of many industrial commodities also decreased because new industries were created. Under this policy Czechoslovakia’s imports from Austria and from Hungary declined sharply, but her exports diminished more than her imports as in 1924 she had exported three times more to Austria than she imported. Her exports to Hungary decreased from 37 million dollars in 1924 to less than 7 millions in 1937. Her industries made efforts to find in overseas markets compensation for the shrinking of her old markets, but overseas markets could not compensate for the losses which Czechoslovakian exports suffered in the markets of her neighbors, and even in favorable years 20 to 30% of the industrial workers were unemployed. Up to 1918 Hungary had a customs-union with Austria and could dispose of her products with ease and at high prices in a large market protected by a substantial tariff. The customs-union had to be renewed from 10 to 10 years and every renewal caused a political crisis though the Emperor of Austria was at the same time Ring of Hungary, the two states maintained their defense by a common army and conducted their foreign affairs by a common foreign office. (How should a customs- union between Austria, Czechoslovakia and Hungary be established and maintained without such links?) In the first five years after the war Hungary traded with her neighbors along pre-war lines, because it took several years to increase their domestic production. In 1923, not less than 71% of Hungary’s exports went to markets of the former Austria-Hungarian Empire, mostly to Austria and Czechoslovakia. In 1929 Hungary was still selling 47% of her exports to Austria and Czechoslovakia, but in 1936 it was only 21%, of which Austria’s share, since she had adopted a more moderate policy than Czechoslovakia, was 17%, leaving a more 4% to the latter country. In 1939 a tariff war broke out between Hungary and Czechoslovakia who finally entered barter agreements on a very limited scale. Hungary’s industries were making favorable progress within the Austria-Hungarian Empire. After the world war these industries had to adapt themselves to a restricted market, but on the other hand they were protected against Czechoslovakian and Austrian competition, and quite a number of local industries were erected. But Hungary’s economy depended primarily on her agriculture, and the crisis of 1930 proved how precarious and unstable was Hungary’s position. The Government had to grant subsidies for the pro354
