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
EDITION needed. No parley representing many governments has to be formed for the negotation of trade agreements. There is no veto on the making of a concession, on the complection of an agreement or its termination. In place of all these complications, a free-trade area has to meet only one technical problem which does not exist in the case of a customs union - the matter of indirect imports. If France has a higher duty on a certain commodity than Belgium, a third country can profit by sending this commodity first to Belgium, paying the lower Belgian duty, and then having it shipped duty-free to France. That would be possible, however, only with a false certificate of Belgian origin, and the danger would not be serious. Goods not produced in Belgium at all could not pass the French frontier with a Belgian certificate. The import and export of goods similar to those produced in Belgium would be carefully checked by the Belgian authorities, bent on avoiding abuse by foreign competitors of rights reserved for Belgian products. Though a free-trade area is free from the political difficulties and the administrative complications involved in a customs union, its economic problems are similar to those caused by a customs union. They arise from the competition between the industries of the participating countries, and would make adjustments necessary in many cases. The economic structures of the prospective European partners are not too different, and during the period of their post-war reconstruction they are more adaptable to modification. But, for example, Italy may want to maintain its high-cost steel production, and to do so would have to subsidize. It would not be easy to overcome the difficulties caused by the competition between the participating countries in such circumstances, but I belive that it would not be impossible. The greatest obstacle in the way of establishing a free-trade area is not the problem of tariffs but of exchange controls, quotas, and bilaterial clearings. The abolition of these restrictions would be as nessary in the case of a customs union as in that of a free-trade area. Neither these schemas nor the usual tariff agreements have any meaning so long as each individual import transactiondepends on the granting of a license 3). Exchange controls and import licenses are not imposed in order to protect industries, but to hinder capital flight and to establish priorities in the use of scarce foreign exchange reserves. The lack of foreign exchange is the consequence of unfavorable balances of trade not covered by “invisible exports”. Most governments and economists believe that the controls must be continued for an indefinite period. Their prin- 3 3) The fact that these restrictions are still in force among the Benelux countries shows how far they are from a real customs union. 365
