Chapter 519

On March 22, 1872, Britain and Russia signed the "British-Russian Bilateral Trade Agreement", "Britain-Russian Grain Mortgage Loan Agreement", "Britain-Russian Financial Mutual Trust Agreement"...

In addition to the lack of alliances, it has become a fact that the tsarist government has moved closer to the British economically.

According to the treaty, the Russians were already a member of the pound-gold system, and the international currency hegemony of the pound was officially established.

As a price, the British would provide the Tsarist government with an interest-free loan of 150 million pounds over the next five years, and the Russians would repay the debt entirely with agricultural products.

Anyone with discernment knows that the so-called loan is just a pretext. The annual loan, which is exactly equal to the agricultural products exported by the Russians, is essentially a huge order contract.

It is nothing more than that the prices of these agricultural products from Russia are lower, and the London government has exempted import duties. Through low prices, it has seized the market of other countries that export agricultural products to the UK.

The first to bear the brunt is Austria, as the world's largest exporter of agricultural products, Austria's loss is undoubtedly the largest. Sixty-five percent of the total annual agricultural imports by the British come from Austria, a market that can now almost be declared non-existent.

"Free trade", just listen to it, if it is serious, it will be over. The British slogan was earth-shattering, and it involved specific interests, so it was decisively thrown aside.

If Austria wants to keep its market in the UK, agricultural prices will now have to at least halve in order to survive the competition.

Affected by the Anglo-Russian treaty, the international agricultural market has plunged since April. The capitalists went to stock, sell, and accumulate cash flow, for fear of being frozen to death in the next cold winter of agricultural products.

As the protagonist at the center of the vortex, Franz was less nervous. Although I did not expect that the British would suddenly take action, the Vienna government had long expected the impact on the international agricultural product market.

At the last annual working meeting, the Vienna government formulated a plan to reduce grain production, mainly focusing on wheat, corn, and beans, which are agricultural products with high production capacity by the Russians.

At the Vienna Palace, at the special agricultural economic conference, Franz took the baton and drew a curve on the world map.

"The Russians are coming, and the British are adding fuel to the flames. The agricultural winter has come. This is a challenge for Austria, and we must do everything possible. Halls, let's talk about the Ministry of Agriculture's plan first."

Agriculture Minister Halls stood up from his seat, tidied up his clothes, and put on a serious and nervous expression. Obviously, this topic is very heavy.

"Since two years ago, the Ministry of Agriculture has been preparing for the return of Russian agricultural products to the international market.

To this end, we have taken a variety of measures, including adjusting the structure of agricultural products, reducing the output of staple grains, clearing inventories, and developing animal husbandry.

These measures can only reduce our losses, but cannot cure the problem from the source. The international agricultural market is so large that we cannot survive the crisis by cutting production capacity.

The cold agricultural winter broke out, and the agriculture of all countries was uncomfortable. There is no need for us to pay the bill.

The collapse of the market prices of agricultural products this time was mainly caused by the Russians. In this case, we will move forward with the current situation and make the crisis more violent.

The Ministry of Agriculture plans to halve international food prices in the next three years and wipe out agricultural production in European countries.

Although Russia's agricultural production capacity is large, they lack the ability to resist risks. The tsarist government, with its limited financial resources, could not provide security for the peasants.

Once the food price collapses, it will inevitably lead to the emergence of a wave of farmers going bankrupt. With any luck, we can also wreck the Russian agricultural production system.

To make up for the loss of domestic farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture proposed a moratorium on agricultural taxes, food transaction taxes, export duties on agricultural products, and a ban on church tithes. At the same time, a guaranteed minimum price for food was set to ensure that farmers would not lose money. "

In destroying the agricultural production systems of European countries, in addition to the fear of being profited by the fisherman, the Vienna government did not want to draw this hatred.

Austria has taken the largest share of the international grain export market, and has taken the largest piece of interest anyway, so why should it be done?

It's easy to handle now, it's the Russians who jumped out, and with just a little propaganda, you can dump the blame on the Tsarist government, and by the way, black out a wave of the British. Anyway, their reputation is already stinky, and they don't care about Dora's hatred.

The Anglo-Russian agreement is the best proof. They directly slashed the price of grain exports by 30% and exempted them from customs duties. The two governments are directly involved in trade, undermining the free trade system, which is the root cause of the food production of European countries losing money together.

Dumping at a proper low price, no one can wash it off. Some people take the lead in lowering the price, and those who follow the trend are inconspicuous. If a price war breaks out accidentally, and the price is lower, there is no way to do it.

Britain and Russia have joined forces to crack down on Austrian grain exports. Instead of making domestic grain unsalable, it is better to hit the lowest price.

Once the international grain price is cut in half, I don't know whether the grain merchants in the UK will fulfill the contract. I don't like this kind of loss-making business. If the British break the contract, then there will be a good show to watch.

It seems that it is only impacting the food production systems of various countries, but in fact, this is also destroying the closeness of Britain and Russia. Nothing can break down an alliance more than a conflict of interest.

Moreover, Britain and Russia are not allies. It is only for the sake of profit. Once the conflict of interest between the two parties exceeds the benefits brought by the partnership, it is difficult to part ways.

The crowd fell into contemplation and began to

Digest what Halls just said.

"Half the price of grain has dropped by half, how big is the impact on the country, will it lead to a large number of farmers going bankrupt? Will it involve the entire agricultural product system? How much money will it need to invest?"

It was Prime Minister Felix who asked the question. Agriculture has always been a pillar industry in Austria, and the Vienna government cannot afford to ignore it. If the game crashes, the sequelae will be very serious.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, please rest assured. Our Ministry of Agriculture has conducted a special assessment. After suspending the collection of agricultural taxes, tithes, grain transaction taxes and grain export duties, international grain prices have been cut in half, and the domestic impact has been minimized.

In response to the grain purchase market, the grain purchase price will drop by about 20%. The Ministry of Agriculture will supervise, and if the market volatility exceeds this level, we will directly intervene in the acquisition.

Since the cost of food production varies from place to place, it cannot be generalized. In the Wallachia plain with better natural conditions, there is even a small profit. And some provinces with poor natural conditions may lose money.

Farmer bankruptcy is certain to happen, and with the development of the times, the small-scale farming economy is bound to be destroyed, and this primitive production model is too costly to compete with mechanized farms.

The per capita land area of ​​domestic farmers is relatively high. Usually, when people plant a variety of crops in parallel, they have a certain ability to resist risks, and large-scale bankruptcies of farmers will not break out in Austria.

To complete this plan, the investment required is still relatively large, at least 120 million Aegis needs to be invested, and at the same time, about 21 million Aegis will be reduced every year financially, and the government needs to fill the hole of another 15 million Aegis in education. "

In the end, the question is still about money. Once this plan was launched, the era of agriculture supplementing industry and education was over.

In fact, Austria's agricultural taxation has always been very low, at a mere 5%, the lowest among the major agricultural producers in continental Europe.

The export tariff of grain is as high as 15%, but the export tariff of finished grain after finishing is only 3% to 5%. It is adjusted according to the actual situation, and the lowest is 1%.

Affected by this policy, Austria basically exports refined grains, with few direct exports.

Other related taxes are also very low. The grain transaction tax is 5%, the vehicle and ship transportation tax is directly exempted, and there are almost no additional taxes.

Even so, these taxes, which play an important role in Austrian revenue, have declined in recent years and are still significant figures.

Franz was caught in the calculation. It is easy to invest 120 million Aegis operating funds. One-time investment will be squeezed out. If it is not possible, he can still get bank loans or issue bonds. This amount of money is already difficult. Austria.

The trouble is that fiscal revenue has decreased and education spending has increased. This 36 million Aegis is not a one-off, but lost forever.

"Temporary exemption", in fact, this temporary is permanent, after the agricultural dividend period ends, it is time for industry to subsidize agriculture.

This means that Austria's fiscal revenue has shrunk by 8.3% directly, and fiscal expenditure has increased by 6.1%.

After listening to the plan of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Carl frowned. After being silent for a while, he put down the water glass in his hand.

"It's too radical. It's not necessary to go so far as to destroy the agricultural production systems of European countries. As long as the international food price is hit to the point where farmers of various countries are unprofitable, there is no need to do it in one step.

In the field of agricultural production, we have an advantage, and the cost of food production is the lowest on the European continent. We also have a complete industrial supporting system, which can get more profits.

Farmers in various European countries are starting to lose money. In fact, domestic farmers still have a certain amount of profit. As long as we drag on, they will not be able to hold on.

Economically, the Russians are likely to be the first to fail. Unless the tsarist government pays to subsidize agriculture, the high cost will make Russian agricultural products lose their market competitiveness.

As long as we grasp this degree, we don't need to pay too much price at all. Now it is only necessary to reduce tariffs on grain exports and exempt agricultural taxes to withstand the first shock.

The grains of the Russians have not been exported to the UK. Now we will release our grain reserves first, hit the international market and hit the price at the transaction price between Britain and Russia, and then we will see if the British will fulfill the contract.

If the contract is not fulfilled, the Russians will be in bad luck. I don't know if the purse of the tsarist government can bear it, and the mountains of grain cannot be sold, but the consequences are very serious. "

Professionals are ruthless, and it is not the price of food that is crushed, but the finances of the tsarist government. Once there is a large-scale unsalable grain, Alexander II will be out of luck.

There is no other way, the farmers are left with food. Either the government directly levies the grain, and then it rots in the warehouse; or it can only be tax-free.

Once the market is full, no one dares to take over, no matter how cheap it is. Every time the economy breaks out, there are capitalists who pour milk into the river just to avoid a price crash.

Now Carr's plan is to crush British food prices first before the Anglo-Russian deal is completed.

International food prices are naturally not immune, and Austria will also suffer heavy losses. But as long as the British default, the Russians, who have suffered heavy losses, will certainly not let it go. Maybe they can't help the London government, but withdrawing from the pound-gold system is inevitable.

At that time, even if the tsarist government is unwilling, it can only bite the bullet and join the Aegis-Gold system. food market

Losses can be recovered in financial markets.

Halls frowned and questioned: "What if the British fulfilled the contract? The benefits brought by currency hegemony are not a shred of the sky. They have no reason to give up so."

Karl smiled calmly: "That is nothing more than that all the grain exporting countries this year have had a hard time together. Even if the international grain price is 30% off, the impact on Austria, which exports refined grains, will not be so great.

Don't forget that the food processing industry itself still has more than a dozen points of profit, and these companies can also share part of the loss.

In general, the price of raw grains has dropped by 70%, and domestic agricultural production can still be maintained at the cost. That's enough, I don't think Russian farmers can make money at current grain export prices.

The price the government needs to pay is only part of the grain reserves and a reduction of 8 to 10 million Aegis in fiscal revenue.

If they directly attack the agricultural systems of European countries, using the Russians to take the blame can only fool ordinary people. Politicians are still clear.

If they take countermeasures and artificially increase food import tariffs, what else can cheap food do besides increase their fiscal revenue? "

This is the reality, and it is common to overturn the table in the face of interests. In order to protect domestic agriculture, it is normal to adopt trade barriers.