ECONOMIC - FOREIGN TRADE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600140047-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 13, 2011
• Sequence Number: 47
• Publication Date: May 18, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
CLASSIFICC'1'"""ON
REPORT
SUBJECT Economic - Foreign trade
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DATE OF
INFORMATION
1949
DATE DIST. , 1950
NO. OF PAGES 3
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
FOREIGN TRADE DE'ESAPMBRfS IN RUMANIA
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/06/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600140047-5
Around the end of September the Soviet ship Michurin arrived in Constants
from Odessa with a great quantity of barytes. In accordance with the commer-
cial agreement between Rumania and the Soviet Union, the Soviet ship Ural de-
livered at Constants 22 cases of steel parts, 488 packages of cork bark weigh-
ing 35,000 kilograms, 3,051 packages of caoutchouc weighing 345,932 kilograms,
one case of lathes, and 400,000 kilograms of raw caoutchouc in 3,534 packages.
Steamships have also arrived in Constanta with Soviet cotton. Soviet
threshers and tractors, in addition to 7-ton trucks and raw materials such as
copper, tin, ferromanganese, tool steel, and graphite electrodes have arrived
in Galati. The USSR has also delivered 28,000 telegraph cables, 150 4-ton
trucks, a large number of chasois, sad many 7-ton IAS trucks.
Centrofarm, the pharmaceutical center, received from the USSR a large
quantity of medical, dental, and laboratory tools and equipment,.in addition
to thermometers and instruments for blood analysis for the Rumanian sanitation
institute.
RATA, the automotive transport administration, imported from the Soviet
Union 5 tons of spare parts and maintenance parts for ZIS automobiles, which al-
so come from the USSR. These parts were primarily motors, pistons, etc, and
will assure continued highway transportation within Rumania. .As a result of the
trade agreement, 13-ton and 7-ton trucks, ZIS 110, Victoria, and Noskvich auto-
mebiles; (!as 67 machines, motorcycles, bicycles, and rubber automobile tires
have also been delivered fru.i thoSoviet Union.
Toward the eri of 1949 the Metalimport state company will be dissolved.
Each part of that company is to become an independent import organization. Ten
to 12 state companies are being planned. As these companies are organized the
.sldustrial centers which have existed-so far will be abolished, such as CIS, CIMP
the leatherworking industry center, chemical industry center, food industry center,
etc.
STATE RA%
ARMY AIR
HSRS
FBI
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Commercial and political negotiations with Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Po-
land are being prepared for 0ctobe~. Under a commercial agreement with Israel
Rumania is to send that country wood, meat, and chemicals. Payments will be made
as follows: 65 percent in effective dollars and 35 percent In goods.
The trade balance as of 30 September 1949 is not favorable to Rumania. That
country owes 18 million dollars, or 900,000,000 crowns to Czechoslovakia, Hungary
and Poland. According to Rumanian information, Czechoslovakia alone is owed 10
million dollars.
The devaluation of the pound sterling did not come unexpectedly for Rumania.
The state companies had tried to do their business in the sterling area in dollars
and thus to reduce their sterling balances. Wood, for instance, was sold to Egypt
for dollars. At the sane time Rumania tried to get rid of pounds by buying goods
for them before devaluation, so that at the time of the actual devaluation only a
sma.l amount of sterling was held by the Rumanian National Bank.
Of the total quantity of 1,900 tons of Poldi steel, Rumania has ordered so
far 1,560 tons, This is in connection with the reorganization of Rumanian in-
drtry. English competition is noticeable in this field. The English steel mills
can offer goods as much as 50 percent cheaper, and can give better delivery dates.
It appears that some orders have already been placed. Rumania makes payment in
pounds earned by exports of wood and petroleum derivatives. An arrangement has
been made for 4,000 to 6,000 tons of zinc concentrates at a price of 77 dollars
per ton. The Podbrezova ironworks have received 100 tons of zinc. The Czechoslo-
vak metallurgical pl&mts delivered 2,200 tons of goods '.a Rumania during October.
Poland is re-exporting goods to Rumania. It is delivering, among other things,
refined eteel from Au3tria and sulfur from Soviet Zone Germany.
Of the 1,000 tons of zinc that Rumania was to send to Czechoslovakia during
1949, only 450 tons were sent; of 2,000 tons of lead, only 500 tons, and of 200,000
cubic :peters of sawn timber only 94,000 cubic meters were delivered. No horsehair,
animal hair, or bristles were delivered at all. These are the most important items
of the trade agreement which Rumania did not deliver to Czechoslovakia. All ef-
forts to change this situation are useless.
not needed at all in Czechoslovakia, but were bought for political reasons, just
as meat was bought with heavy machinery from Poldi and Ferromet. Czechoslovak com-
.:ercial relations with Rumania are conducted for political rather than economic
According to the latest reports, clearing between Czechoslovakia and Rumania
will. be done in rubles.
by railroad, and 19,300 by ship; 5,009 tons of oats had been sent by railroad, and
4,481 tons by ship; 11,020 tons of scrap, 2,419 tons of beef, and 1,672 tons of
pork had also been sent,
Steel requirements in Rumania are mostly covered by the commercial agreement
with Czechoslovakia, which envisions imports of 6,000 tons of various types of
These total about 2,000 tons, of which about 30 tans is high-speed steely and the
remainder is construction and tool steel. About 5 tons of sheets of hard metal
are to be imported from the Soviet Union.
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The commercial agreement being negotiated with Poland is to include about
1,000 tons of steel. It =appears, however, that this will come from the Austrian
steel which Polard. will give up in favor of Rumania. Orders for about 100 tong
of steel have been placed in Bngland. Of this, about 15 tons of high-speed steel
will be allotted to the Rumanian State Railroads and various industries. About
50 or 60 tons of high-speed steel and tools have been ordered for the Copes Mica
,si Cugifactories. Appi ximately another 10 tons have been ordered for other
factories.
As of February 1949, the Rumanian market was very short of high-("ality
steel. Supplies within the country were very low. Two carloads of steel had
been received shortly before from Kladno, but this was insufficient to cover cur-
rent needs. Domestic production of special steels is insignificant.
The following table gives the values of various goods in the 1949 import plan
of the Rumanian Ministry of Industry.
Planing machines
Ylechani~.al hammers
Milling machines
Grinders
Mechanical saws
Tempering furnaces
Mine dribs
Compressors
Various pumps
Hydraulic eccentric presses
Machines for processing sheet metal
Spare parts
Spare parts for hosiery machines
Spare parts for shoemaking
Spare parts for paper industry
Cobalt glass and goggles for welding
Turbines for electric power plantn
Drawn steel tubes, J-2 inches, black and galvanized, 2,500 tons
Drawn iron tubing
One lathe, 2,000 mm by 700 mm high
Parallel lathe, 14,000 mm by 1,000 mm high
Special tool steel
600
270
540
1,000
70
5C
135
300
220
360
1,340
380
150
250
6
750
550
6,060
108
156
3,500
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