Nevertheless, Germany has been able to capture some important capital-goods orders in this part of the world. Some political factors, such as the reparations agreement with Israel and efforts to keep on good terms with the Arab nations, may also in the long run benefit West German trade with the Near and Middle East. Loss OF MARKETS NOW BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN SUMMARY Western European trade with Soviet Russia and her satellites today is clearly much smaller than in prewar years. Not only have exports to, and imports from, the Iron-Curtain countries failed to keep up with the overall increases in trade values, but they have actually declined absolutely, as the political gulf between the West and the East has widened. This pattern is even more evident in the case of Germany which before the war did relatively more business with the eastern countries than other West European nations. West German trade with the East now is at an even lower level than that of Western Europe generally. What is true of East-West trade in general applies also to the electrical industry in particular. Before the war, the eastern countries were a not inconsiderable market for electrical goods, especially exports from Germany. At present, such trade rarely goes beyond spare parts and accessories for installations made in prewar years. The situation is further complicated by the existence of extensive electricalproduction facilities in the eastern zone of Germnay. It is, therefore, difficult to assess how far, in the absence of present restrictions on deliveries, the East would evince a genuine demand for West European electrical products. It is a reasonable estimate, however, that for West Germany the virtual disappearance of the East European markets constitutes a real loss, probably more so than for other Western European countries. It also appears likely that, given a different political constellation, much more of China's foreign trade, particularly in the capital-goods field, would have been transacted with Western Europe and Japan. As matters stand, the Soviet Union and her European satellites now fill most of China's import needs, though they did practically no business at all with her before the war. United States merchandise trade with all areas and with Europe, 1931–53 NOTE.-Trade figures shown here represent recorded exports and imports as compiled by the Bureau of the Census and so will not agree with adjusted trad● figures appearing in the balance of payments statements Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. |