Main Features, Volume and Territorial Structure of Czechoslovak Export during the Interwar Period

Right after the establishment of Czechoslovakia, it was evident that foreign trade would play an important role in the economy of the new state. The narrow domestic market forced Czechoslovak producers to look for new foreign sales opportunities. With respect to historical ties, they were mainly interested in exports to succession states and Germany. However, the post-war conditions did not favour a considerable export expansion hampered by high tariff barriers restricting access to the markets of succession states. The second half of the 1920s became the most successful phase in the development of interwar export. To a large extent, Czechoslovak enterprises showed good adaptability to changes in foreign demand and took advantage of the contemporaneous boom in world trade. By contrast, the Great Depression disclosed the unfavourable consequences of Czechoslovakia's dependency on export results. Unfortunately, a slow reaction of both the Czechoslovak government and industry to the new situation, together with other problems, led to decreasing Czechoslovakia's share in total European exports.