home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
CNN Newsroom: Global View
/
CNN Newsroom: Global View.iso
/
eur
/
cro
/
cro.ec4
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-05-02
|
3KB
|
83 lines
<text>
<title>
Croatia: World Trade Outlook
</title>
<article>
<hdr>
World Trade Outlook 1992: Yugoslavia
U.S. Companies Can Still Operate in Time of War
</hdr>
<body>
<p>Note: The successor states to Yugoslavia are Bosnia and
Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and
Slovenia. Bosnia and Hercegovina declared independence in April
1992.
</p>
<p>By Jeremy Keller
</p>
<p>Trade with Yugoslavia's republics could recover fairly soon
once peace takes hold. Trade opportunities may be limited in
the short term, but clever American companies can still operate
in the present situation.
</p>
<p>U.S. exports 1991--$370 million U.S. imports 1991--$677
million
</p>
<p> Six months of civil war have destroyed Tito's Yugoslav
federation. Today, it exists only in name; its prime minister
has resigned without a successor, and most federal offices in
Belgrade have closed. Predictably, inflation and unemployment
have risen dramatically, while productivity is steadily
falling. War-torn Croatia has lost about 50 percent of its
industrial base, and its communications and energy grid are
wrecked. Its $4 billion a year tourism industry is dead.
</p>
<p> Serbia's economy is badly damaged. It has financed the war
by printing money. Thus, it is reentering a hyper-inflationary
spiral reminiscent of 1989; inflation was over 50 percent from
January to February 1992, a 26,000 percent annual rate. The
Serbian government has reimposed mandatory import coverage
through countertrade.
</p>
<p> Inter-republic trade, which generated about one-quarter of
the GNP, has collapsed, as warring republics have seized each
other's assets. Yugoslavia has also lost its banking and
monetary system. Slovenia and Croatia are issuing their own
currencies; Macedonia is likely to follow suit. At present, no
currencies in Yugoslavia are internally convertible for foreign
exchange.
</p>
<p> Following the European Community's lead, the U.S. government
placed trade sanctions on Yugoslavia on Dec. 24, 1991. The
sanctions strip Yugoslav exports of GSP privileges, terminate
the bilateral textile visa agreement, and suspend U.S. aid for
Yugoslavia except for humanitarian aid. The U.S. government is
deliberating whether to join the European Community in
recognizing Slovenia and Croatia as independent states.
</p>
<p> Logic would suggest that the Yugoslav catastrophe would have
crippled U.S.-Yugoslav trade, but this is not correct. Bilateral
trade, worth $1 billion, remains larger than that with any other
East European country, and only U.S. exports to Poland are
greater than those to Yugoslavia.
</p>
<p> While trade with any part of Yugoslavia is extremely
difficult at this time, some imaginative U.S. companies have
found opportunities in individual republics. In Serbia, for
example, a California-based company has formed a major joint
venture with Galenika of Belgrade, intending to become the
dominant pharmaceuticals producer in Eastern Europe. A
Colorado-based company has a $1 million joint venture to upgrade
Serbia's telecommunications. A Washington State company is
working with Slovenia for bilateral tourism development.
</p>
<p> For the latest information on business conditions in this
area, contact the Commerce Department's Yugoslavia Desk at (202)
482-4915.
</p>
<p>Source: International Trade Administration, Business America Magazine
</p>
</body>
</article>
</text>