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Military government weekly information bulletin
Number 74 (January 1947)
[Highlights of policy], pp. [4]-18
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Page 11
Germans purchasing items at one of the sales stands of a badly-damaged market in Berlin. representatives of Holland,, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In many of these countries bank accounts for use in export-import trans- actions have already been opened or are being opened. Arrangements have been made for visits by foreign businessmen to Germany and for German representatives to neigh- boring countries, all in the interest of foreign trade. The entire program for export of US Zone products has been under direct control of OMGUS, but in the future German business- men will be permitted to enter into non- transactional correspondence with foreign firms, thus making preliminary negotiations a direct matter between buyer and seller. As a means of stimulating interest in par- ticular goods available for export, successful sample expositions were held at Munich, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden, and New York City, which served to demonstrate the wide range of skills available, from simple handicraft to the production of high precision instru- ments, and to set the direction of future pro- ductive effort. From the beginning of consideration of the export-import question, quadripartite policy placed the emphasis on rebuilding the so- called light industries, such as textiles, paper, pharmaceuticals, optical instruments, and toys. It was felt that if these industries suc- ceeded in recovering their traditional pro- gressiveness in technical matters, they would be able to furnish the means to pay for im- ports of food and raw materials. BIZONAL ECONOMIC ACCORD It has been a basic tenet of US policy since the beginning of the occupation that foreign trade should be developed as one element in the economic life of Germany as a whole. The pertinent clause in the Potsdam Agree- ment states: "During the period of occupa- tion Germany shall be treated as a single economic unit. To this end common policies shall be established in regard to import and export programs of Germany as a whole." Until the latter part of 1946 little was done toward making the economic unity of Ger- many a fact. On 3 December the joint Anglo- American agreement providing for the "full economic integration" of the US and British Zones of Germany was signed in Washington, (Continued on page 31) 11
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