CZECH IRON AND STEEL TRADE WITH THE SINO-SOVIET BLOC

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A007800290008-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 12, 2008
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: September 16, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

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11 111 111111,
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Sees. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
COUNTRY Czechoslovakie/Sino-Soviet Bloc
SUBJECT Czech Iron and Steel Trade
with the Sino-Soviet Bloo
DATE OF INFO.
DATE ACQUIRED
DATE DISTR. 16 September 1955 25X1
NO. OF PAGES 5
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
This is UNEVALUATED Information
A. Exports to the Soviet Bloc
To the USSRo
General Price Agreement
1. For the period of the Five-Year Plan from 1949 to 1953 top prices to be
paid by the Russians for Czechoslovak (and indeed, it is considered cer-
tain, all Satellite) exports were agreed upon. Those prices., in the case
of Czechoslovak iron and steel exports, were far below world prices pre-
vailing in 1949., possibly as far as 40 percent below, and,, as world prices
rose during the period., became even more unrealistic.
2. This system was extended to cover 1954, but the Russians agreed in the
course of that year to reconsider prices to be paid for 1955. Up till the
middle of 1955 no firm price list had been agreed on, despite much nego-
tiation, for Czech iron and steel products, but it appears certain that
agreement will soon be reached., and that the prices will correspond much
more closely to those prevailing on world markets.
Export of Tubes
3. Tubes, particularly thick-walled oil pipes., are by far the most important
item exported to the USSR by the Czech iron and steel industry. From the
beginning of 1949 the - Russians undertook to buy whatever the industry
could supply in the way of oil pipes., particularly in the upper range
(20-inch). A five-year contract for 150,000 tons a year of pipes, mostly
oil pipes, was signed, and the Russians let it be understood that they
would continue to buy at this level or, if possible, on a larger scale.
(Note: Washington distribution indicat.d by "X"; Field distribution by "#".)
INFORMATION REPORT I N FORMA-f ION REPORT
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4. For the period 1949 to 19539 Czechoslovakia exported to the USSR
approximately 150,000 tons of pipes, as follows:
35,000 tons of 20-inch oil pipes, manufactured by the Gustav KJiment
Pipe Rolling Mills in Chomu5ov.
A small quantity of pipes in the 2-inch to 4-inch range (gas pipes.,
Thick Thick-walled pipes from 4--inch to ]2-inch, manufactured at the Chomutov ,
,
plant, at the Vitkovice Klement Gottwald Iron Works in Ostrava, and at the
New Klement Gottwald Foundry in Kuncice. Most of these were in the range
4-inch to 9 5/8-inch.
5. The Russians suddenly announced that for 1954 they would continue to take
35,000 tons of 20-inch pipes, and more if possible, but must cut their total
imports of pipe to 100,000 tons. For 1955, they cut their total imports of
pipe to 70,000, but continued with the 35,000 tons of 20-inch pipe. It is
expected that they may make a further cut in 1956.
6. This unexpected change in Russian requirements caused great inconvenience
and difficulty for the Kuncice tube rolling plant in particular, since the
plant was developed' with Russian assistance, in order to fulfil Russian
demands for 4-inch to 9 5/8-inch pipe. Intense efforts are being made
by the Czechs to dispose of this range of pipe elsewhere, since they have
no use for it at home,
7. Since the Russians began in 1955 to give actual destinations in the USSR
of export consignmentsl, it is possible to give some information on the
destination of the -1___
neat, at least, was for northeastern Piberiap in the area ofvSakhalin;
that destinations were very widely spread and mostly beyond the Urals;
and that one or two were for Baku. (In 1953 or 1954 some Soviet oil en-
gineers, who came to Czechoslovakia to inspect oil pipes, stated that very
intense efforts were being made to exploit oil beds under the sea in the
Baku area).
Other Iron and Steel Exports to the USSR
8. Other exports includes
Galvanized sheets From 1948 or 1949 until 1953, about 10,000
tons a year; since then perhaps half that
amount
Barbed wire .
About 2,000 tons a year (a subject of cynical
Rails jokes among anti-Communists).
30,000 tons a year from 1948 or 1949 until
1953, since when exports have ceased.
Link chains About 500 tons.
Drawn wire About 500 tons; stated by the Russians to be
for champagne corks. (Equally a subject of
Special milita order cynical comment among anti-Communists.)
z`y o 2,000 tons were delivered from Vitkovice in
1954 of cuttings of normal carbon steel plates,
deep drawn, shaped, and circular, which the
Russians stated would be processed in the
USSR for use in the manufacture of high ex-
plosive shells. No further information is
available; the matter is treated as top secret,
and the true purpose of the "rounds", as they
are called, is known to very few in Vitkovice
or outside.
To China:
9. Exports to China on any scale began in 1952 and 1953. They include:
Thick-walled pipes, About 25 000 tons w.:
mostly 4-inch to 9 5/8-inch two ' re exported annually for
years The Chi.
nese would have taken more,
but Czechoslovakia was under obligation to
supply these pipes to the USSR. In 195}x;='a.nd
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1955, when Czechoslovakia could have supplied.,
the Chinese requirement dropped to 10.,000
tons a year.
Seamless or welded tubes 6,000 to 7,000 a year. The Chinese are
pressing hard for precision and high-grade
steel tubes, but Czechoslovakia has none
available for export.
Plates, sheets, steel strip, About 10,000 tons a year,
cold drawn steel arr (in very
small amounts) Poldi-refined
rolled steel
To East GQt?m =:
10. Exports to the DDR consist largely of:
Seamless boiler and gas tubes 5,000 tons agreed on for 1955. Used to be more.
Drawn wire products About 10,000 tons. (Precision steel tubes
Wire rods cannot be supplied.)
Angles., flats., joints., channels,
axles, snrings, etc. Poldi-rolled
steel ,small amount)
To Rumania:
11. Until three years ago Rumania took 10,000 tons of 20-inch oil pipes a
year from Czechoslovakia. The Czechs were told they were for natural
gas. Since then the Rumanians have taken no oil pipes.
12. Other exports are:
Seamless and welded tubes 79000 tons in 1955. The amount has been
steadily decreasing. A peak of about 18,000
tons was reached in 1951.
Sheets, plates, strip metal 8,000 to 10,000 tons a year since 1948 or 1949.
To Bulgaria:
13. The Russians, it is believed, supply Bulgaria with the bulk of her steel
requirements. Czechoslovakia exports 3,000 to 4,000 tons annually of
seamless and welded tubes, sheets, plates, sections, and strip steel to
Bulgaria.
To Poland:
14. On the exchange system2 Czechoslovakia provides special transfer and
dynamo sheets for the motor industry. Under the trade agreement, Czecho-
slovakia exports about 15,000 tons a year of light steel sections and
sheets to Poland. (The Polish iron and steel industry has been built up
with the emphasis on heavy products., and the range of light products
manufactured is much smaller than in Czechoslovakia.)
To Hungary:
15. Exports are very small; they used to be much larger. An exchange of tubes
on the exchange system stopped in 1954.
Be Imports from the Soviet Bloc
From the USSR:
16. Iron ore (quantity not known) and pig iron are the only imports. Imports of
the latter have been discussed in a previous report - 120,000 tons in 1955,
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From China :
17. Iron ore (quantity not known) and pig iron, since 1952 and 1953. Pig
iron imports in 1955 are likely to be 15,000 tons.
From East_Giy:
18. In 1954 the GDR exported 2,500 tons of precision steel tubes to Czecho-
slovakia
e r quality was poor, and the East Germans did
not supply the specifications requested. There may be a supply of 15,000
19. No imports of iron and steel products are taken.
From Bulgaria:
20. Nothing is imported.
From Poland:
21. Sheets are imported on the exchange system.
From Hungary:
22. Virtually nothing is imported which concerns the iron and steel industry*
tons of pig iron in 1955;
From Rumania:
Comments Otto Wolff, UntereSaohsenhausen 37
Cologne; Poppe and
,
off, Wert er near Bielefeld; Meyer has not been identified.
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