In an innovative move to beat punitive Russian import tariffs and create business during the current financial mess in Russia, Minsk-based US-Russian joint venture Summit Systems has begun selling in Poland and Czechoslovakia. The freezing of domestic hard currency accounts at Vneshnicombank has created a major, albeit short-term problem for hardware sales companies in the Commnwealth. With many potential customers unable to access their hard currency, Summit Systems has turned to Eastern Europe as a new source of sales. The US-Russian joint venture is also using its exporting operation to claim back the punitive 12% by value import tariff charged on components sourced in the US. Shipments sourced in Germany or South Korea are liable to a 3% tariff. Moscow-based marketing manager Douglas McCallum predicts the domestic market will pick up substantially during 1992 and this could end the Eastern European venture. In the short term, however, it has proved profitable. Since October, these markets have accounted for 20% of all Summit’s sales. Setting up the operation was made easier as the company’s joint-venture partner JV Dialogue has affiliates in these countries. Traditional ties between Belarus and Poland have also helped. McCallum says there is still a significant demand for Cyrillic keyboards outside Russia and the importance attached to components sourced in white countries is as strong in Eastern Europe as it is in the former Soviet Union.
