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COMECON Membership - Coggle Diagram
COMECON Membership
Becoming a member
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Over the next 20 years, GDR's economic planning was linked to COMECON such as establishment and focus of FYPs.
GDR couldn't keep up with the West's technology developments so focused its production on demands in the USSR and Eastern Bloc.
GDR became most sophisticated industrial economy with the highest living standards in the Eastern Bloc.
Supplied the USSR and other COMECON countries with technology in sectors such as chemicals, microelectronics and electrical well below market price.
Trading Partner
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The USSR was the GDR's largest trading partner, accounting for 45% of GDR plant and machinery exports.
Not very profitable for the GDR as products sent to the USSR were never bought at real market price.
USSR paid for the exports in natural resources, it supplied 90% of the GDR's iron, oil and wood, and 80% of its rolled steel and sheet metal.
When the USSR changed the prices for these resources, the GDR suffered.
Importance
Value during OPEC crisis 1973. GDR was partly sheltered from steep oil price rises by using Soviet supplies.
By 1980, after second OPEC price rise, the Soviets began reducing GDR oil supplies even though Honecker pleaded with Brezhnev.
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By 1980s - GDR's growing trade with FRG was more important in terms of trade, agricultural production and availability of loans.
Labour Shortage
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This included Vietnam, Mozambique, Angola and Cuba.
Students from these countries and other socialist states studied in GDR universities usually in science and technology.
But many from outside this European sphere suffered social inequalities and hostility in the economic decline of the 1980s.