The System of Payment between Finland and the Soviet Union

Abstract

Throughout the postwar period, payment flows between Finland and the Soviet Union have been effected under a bilateral clearing system for payments. The principles and procedural methods applied in these payment arrangements have stemmed from the bilateral nature of the trade between the two countries. Since 1951, the payments agreements between Finland and the Soviet Union have been part of the five-year framework agreements concluded between the two countries, and this has accentuated the links and interdependence between the payment and trade systems applied. Like the trade system, the payment system has remained largely unchanged. The stipulations concerning payments included in the framework agreement for 1981–5 are not very different from those included in the first five-year agreement on the exchange of goods and payments signed in 1950.