Soviet Trade Organizations

SOVIET TRADE ORGANIZATIONS. The control and conduct of the foreign trade of the U.S.S.R. are carried out by Narcomtorg (the People's Commissariat for Trade) and its local branches. Trade Delegations have been set up in all countries with which the U.S.S.R. has diplomatic relations.

The entire foreign trade of the Soviet Union as regards the quantity and quality of goods to be exported or imported is regulated by the plans drawn up for each year by Narcomtorg, and which are ratified by the Council for Labour and Defence in consonance with the State Planning Commission. Narcomtorg and the Trade Delegations abroad supervise and control pur chases and sales from the point of view of the legality of the transactions, their commercial advantage, and their concordance with the foreign trade policy of the Government and the export import plan laid down.

Anglo-Soviet Trade.

The trading relations between Great Britain and the U.S.S.R., which had broken down during the war, revolution and blockade, began gradually to be restored in 1920, after the decision of the Inter-Allied Supreme Council at Paris on January i6th, 1920, to raise the blockade against Soviet Russia. The actual resumption of trade dates from June 1920, and the first organization to carry out such trade was Arcos, Ltd., established in 1920. A trade agreement was concluded between Great Britain and the U.S.S.R. on March 16th, 1921, which was terminated by the British Government in May 1927.

The foreign trade of the U.S.S.R. being a State monopoly can be conducted only by organizations specially authorized to perform export and import operations. The organizations con ducting the foreign trade of the U.S.S.R. in Great Britain are registered under and subject to British jurisdiction.

According to the functions performed by the different organi zations, they can be classed in the following groups: (I) trading organizations; (2) merchant shipping organizations; (3) insur ance organizations; (4) banks; (5) representatives of various trading and industrial organizations of the U.S.S.R.

The trading organizations also fall into the three following groups: (A) Limited liability companies with Soviet capital; (B) Mixed companies with Soviet and foreign capital; (C) Co-operative organizations with Soviet capital.

To group (A) belong : (a) Arcos, Ltd., purchasing and selling agency for the principal exporting and importing organizations in the U.S.S.R. Paid-up capital £900,000. (b) Russian Oil Products, Ltd., sole agents for Great Britain and Ireland of the Naphtha Syndicate of the U.S.S.R. Paid-up capital ii00,000. (c) White Sea Timber Trust, Ltd. (paid-up capital iioo,000), Russhollandless, Ltd. (share capital L150,000), and Russanglo less, Ltd. (share capital £150,000), agents for the sale in Great.

Britain of Russian timber and timber products. (d) Kniga (Eng land), Ltd., exporters from Great Britain of books, periodicals, stationery, etc. Share capital £3,000 (fully paid). (g) Mosekust (Russian Handicrafts), Ltd., importers of Russian lace, carpets, ivory, toys, china, etc. Share capital Lioo.

To the group (B) belong: (a) The Russo-British Grain Ex port Co., Ltd., sole selling agents in Great Britain and Ireland for the Corn Export Company, Exportkhleb, Moscow; im porters of Russian grain, seeds, oilcakes, offals, vegetable oils, etc. Share capital £200,000 (fully paid). (b) Russian Wood Agency, Ltd., agents for the sale of Russian timber materials on behalf of Exportless, Severoless, Sevsapless, Karelless and other Russian timber trusts. Share capital £240,000 (fully Paid) ; Dvinoless Export, Ltd. (share capital ii00,000, fully paid), and Russnorvegoless, Ltd. (registered as a Norwegian limited liability company, with a share capital of L300,000), importers of Russian timber materials.

To group (C) belong: (a) Centrosojus (England), Ltd., agents in Great Britain and Ireland for the Central Union of Russian Consumers' Co-operative Societies, Centrosoyiz, Moscow, and for other co-operative unions in the U.S.S.R. Share capital £250, 000 (fully paid). (b) Selskosoyilz, Ltd., agents in Great Britain for the various agricultural co-operative unions. Share capital £50,000 (fully paid). (c) Ukrainian Co-operatives, Ltd., repre sentatives in Great Britain of the Ukrainian Co-operative Societies. Paid-up capital £21,000. (d) Central Association of Flax Grow ers, Ltd., sole representatives of Exportlen, Ltd., Moscow; im porters from the U.S.S.R. of flax, tow and hemp. Capital The only merchant shipping organization is the Anglo-Soviet Shipping Co., Ltd., the loading brokers and agents for the Soviet Mercantile Fleet, Sovtorgflot. Share capital £i,000 (fully paid). The only insurance organization is the Black Sea and Baltic General Insurance Co., Ltd., which are the London cor respondents of the U.S.S.R., State Insurance Department, Gos strakh. Share capital I ioo,000. There are two banks. The Mos cow Narodny Bank, Ltd. (paid-up capital £750,000) finances the foreign trade of co-operative organizations. The Bank for Rus sian Trade, Ltd. (paid-up capital £550,000) finances Russian trade with Great Britain other than co-operative trade. Finally, there are in Great Britain representatives of the U.S.S.R. State Bank; and of Gostorg, Ukrgostorg, and Zakgostorg, which are the State import and export trading offices of Russia, of the Ukraine, and of Transcaucasia respectively.