ABSTRACT
The exchange of goods between the Hungarian and the Soviet economies took place, from the very beginning, within the system of bilateral quotas. The established Hungarian capacities were adjusted in their scales to the product pattern of foreign trade. The quota system means that trade can only be affected by the foreign trade organs, isolated from the producers: sales and purchases are not connected on the producers' level, and no contact could be established between seller and buyer. The specialization and cooperation agreements that had been created owing to their special importance came into existence because the economic management gave them priority. The trade that has been accounted in dollars must be considered as fitting in the logic of the quota system from the aspect of the economic mechanism. Statistics show a 142 million dollar and a 333 million dollar Hungarian surplus and a 105 percent and a 112 percent export/import coverage rate in 1986 and 1987 respectively.
