Serbia and Romania: The issue of salt supply and negotiations for a trade agreement in 1906

Abstract

?his article examines the process of concluding a trade agreement between Serbia and Romania in 1906 when the Tariff War between Austria-Hungary and Serbia began. Memoirs of a Serbian diplomat Mihailo G. Ristic, who served as a Minister in Bucharest between 1906 and 1914, significantly contributed to our understanding of the diplomatic relations between Serbia and Romania in this period. Furthermore, documents from the State Archives of Serbia helped us gain insight into economic issues. Given the fact that since the end of the 19th century Serbia imported 25,000 tons of salt from Romania per year, the pressure of the Austro-Hungarian government on Serbia to purchase salt from Hungary alarmed the Romanian government. Considering that the salt export for the Serbian market was relevant to the Romanian economy, this problem threatened to damage the good diplomatic relations between Serbia and Romania. However, although Romanian political circles and the Romanian Embassy in Belgrade viewed this issue as very important, the Romanian negotiators did not raise the matter of salt supply at the negotiations for a trade agreement in October 1906. Although Austria-Hungary tried to crush the Serbian economy with the Tariff War, it allowed Serbia to develop trade and find new markets for its products. By concluding a trade agreement with Romania in December 1906, Serbia secured the issue of transporting Serbian goods through Romanian ports and strengthened trade connections with its neighbor.