ABSTRACT
In contrast with the problems of structural change under central planning, which received so little attention that the evidence of distortions generated by Soviet-type industrialisation had to be established from the very beginning, the problems of exchange with the world market have been analysed much more often. Since the surfacing of the indebtedness problem, they have become the focus of attention of both analysts and decision-makers in the East and West. Thus, the basic data are reasonably well known and, consequently, the present writer can concentrate to a greater extent on sources of permanent pressure for imports and underperformance in exports so characteristic for STEs. 1 He begins with the role of foreign trade under central planning. This role, declarations to the contrary notwithstanding, did not change much over time, with import substitution continuing to be, explicitly or implicitly, the guiding idea.
