Trade and Payments Arrangements for States of the Former USSR
Author: Constantine Michalopoulos
Publisher: Washington, D.C. : World Bank
Published: 1992
Total Pages: 66
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In early 1992, trade among the 15 state of the former USSR had declined dramatically, and trade relations were in disarray. This study discusses the incentives in the interstate trading environment of 1992 that have led to interstate export controls and the decline in interstate trade and proposes solutions that address the incentive problem. The study proposes methods for allowing enterprise-to-enterprise trade after the introduction of new, possibly inconvertible, currencies by independent states. The advantages and disadvantages of a clearing union, and an auction market for rubles in countries with new currencies are discussed. The study explains why enterprises face little competition from imports from outside the former USSR now, but why external import competition may become a serious concern after the introduction of new currencies or convertibility. It evaluates the case for preferential trading arrangements among the 15 states as a transitional device for easing unemployment and elaborates why any differential protection provided should be moderate and transitory.