ABSTRACT
In centrally planned economies, the mere notion of trade liberalization raises a number of questions. In the early stage of development in this system, even the chance of trade expansion was questionable. Autarkic tendencies were reinforced in every planned economy partly on grounds of ideology and partly as a consequence of the essential factors of a planned economy. In 1967-1968, when real trade reforms began, Hungary's economy was fairly advanced as compared to an average developing country that starts to liberalize trade. Foreign trade was conducted by two to three dozen specialized state foreign trade companies. Of some importance also were the efforts aimed at increasing or unifying the export incentives. However, the signs do not point unambiguously to liberalization. In 1982, when a balance of payments crisis threatened, the Kadarian policy of "restrictions through consensus" was no longer sufficient to successfully implement drastic import restrictions.
