XIII. Прочтите следующий диалог, обсудите его, высказывая свою точку зрения обсуждаемым вопросам. Суммируйте проведенную беседу.

A. "You know that the radical reform of our national economy may 448

realized on the basis of a new price formation system, setting up a single market and convertibility of the rouble."

B. "Yes, I know it perfectly. What's beyond me is why we should try to invent the bicycle when it was already done ages ago. Why can’t we study the experience of the Common Market thoroughly and apply it to our reality with corresponding alterations. Surely it may be much easier and help avoid possible mistakes and miscalculations."

A. "I agree with you. They have a wide experience in this field. And it took them over 30 years at that. Since the EEC was created in 1957 they have had several stages in developing their collective currency unit. First they had the "snake" system since 1971, then the SDR* since 1974 and it took them 3 years to come to the European Currency Unit (the ECU), and since 1979 they have been perfecting this system."

B. "One thing's absolutely clear. We can't do it in a day. It may take quite a long time."

A. "Again I agree "with you there."

B. "And we must have a really common currency unit for our trading community instead of the existing transferable rouble."

A "Naturally our rouble should be covered by the amount of goods produced, i.e. we should check, fight down so to say, the inflationary process first of all."

B. "How serious is it in our country?"

A. "Some say 2 %, others, up to q %. No one knows exactly, and the State 1 Committee for Statistics is still calculating it."

B. "But these are two separate, though as everything in our life, interconnected problems. One concerns all our foreign partners, the other is our internal problem."

A. "It's very important for the improvement of international set­ tlements. So far we've got clearing agreements with East European and some capitalist countries such as India, Finland, Egypt and Syria. Transferable roubles, clearing roubles, clearing dollars and Indian rupees may be used as clearing currency. But they can't be used elsewhere or converted into other currencies."

B. "There're many terms in our economic literature concerning cur­ rency. Let's see which is which. First, what is hard currency and soft currency?"

A. "Hard currency is defined as one that is reliable and stable, which is why it is readily accepted by foreign countries in payment for goods or of debt. Soft currency is defined as one that is not convertible to gold, or into certain other currencies which are more in demand as it is likely to fall in value usually because of an adverse trade balance."

B. "It's quite clear so far."

A. "Just a minute, I haven't finished yet. So hard and soft currencies are English terms that may correspond to Russian "convertible" and "non-convertible" or "unconvertible" currencies."

B. "Aren't the latter used in English?"

A. "No, they aren't used in English as terms, neither is the term "closed"to denote local currencies, like the Indian rupees or our rouble or many others."

' SDR - Special Drawing Rights - специальные права позаимствования (юр.)

449

i 336

В. "What foreign exchange belongs to hard currency?"

A. "Currencies of almost all advanced capitalist countries and even some developing or as they are now called newly-industrialized countries like Singapore or South Korea. I can't enumerate them all, but one thing's quite clear that the US dollar, the Japanese yen and the Deutsche mark are most popular, and more or less reliable at that."

B. "I'm. not an expert in financial matters, but I think that the rouble's real exchange rate is necessary not only in respect of hard currencies, but in respect of clearing currencies as well."

A. "What does a real exchange rate imply?"

B. "Perhaps I won't be able to answer your question properly, but I know that monetary exchange is impossible without the rouble’s" real exchange rate and there must be several stages, but first being the rouble's convertibility inside this country."

A. "What does that mean?"

B. "That means that our enterprises must have a chance to buy for eign currency for roubles to pay for their machinery imports modernize their factories."

A. "How can that be achieved?"

B. "A domestic monetary market should be created or a currency exchange should be allowed through the USSR Vnesheconombank given the rouble's exchange rate is regularly corrected."

A. "That's a good prospect, put it seems far away to me."

B. "Don't be that pessimistic. If the problem's thoroughly analysed and the positive experience of the EEC in this field taken ntoi account, I don't think it'll take that much time."

A. "If only it were tiue!" - this is the translation or rather the corresponding saying in English, .of our proverb: "Вашими бы ус тами да мед пить. In Russian it sounds much better and more expressive, don't you think? I wonder when the Soviet rouble will turn into a currency of price and of payment in internatior transactions."

B. "To sum up our talk I'd say that restructuring means a change-over to „economic methods of foreign trade management, that's why the rouble's real rate of exchange along with economically beneficial customs tariffs, currency credit and other things like that, is becoming more and more important and needs immediate and close attention."

XIV. Напишите претензии (в форме писем и телексов) по поводу некондиционь товаров, товаров ниже качества образца с надлежащим обоснованием.

XV. Напишите возможные ответы на эти письма-претензии с указанием причин вашего решения.

XVI. Устно суммируйте суть претензий и принимаемых мер, давая свою оценку.