Terms of trade between the Soviet Union and smaller communist countries, 1955 to 1957

An attempt to determine whether the smaller communist countries suffer price disadvantages in trading with the Soviet Union. Soviet foreign trade data show evidence of price discrimination at the expense of the smaller communist countries in Europe from 1955 to 1957. These countries apparently were not paid particularly well for their goods to make up for the high charges for Soviet exports. Soviet export terms to the satellites were generally less favorable than British import prices and were also less responsive to changes in the latter than were Soviet terms to Free Europe. The limitation of bargaining freedom of the smaller communist countries is attributed to their peculiar relationship with the USSR, which is in a monopolistic-monopsonistic position.