230 REPORT ON COOPERATION IN AMERICAN EXPORT TRADE.

organization, under which it was agreed that Austria should be the
sales territory of the Austrian works and Hungary of the Hunzarian
 works, although the works of each country were to be allowed
to export a stated amount to the other. The agreement was last renewed
 in 1905, to run to December, 1917. In 1912 there were 34
large companies in the cartel.?
The Hauptkartell is in the nature of a production cartel, apportioning
 production and sales, in order to guard against overproduction,
 with its resultant price cutting. The cartel represents the individual
 participants in the form of a free agreement, unregulated
by any legal provisions. It guarantees to each member his sales
quota for the sale of his products in direct trade with his established
customers, and assures each and every individual member not only
technical, but also absolute mercantile, independence.? It makes no
provisions for the general fixing of prices, but has in the course of
time established the custom of fixing, in free agreement, price adjustments
 for the head cartel according to market conditions for the
time being. Only in the case of the individual subsidiary cartels
are provisions made for temporary price fixing.
The Hauptkartell seeks to increase the domestic sale of iron and
steel products. It also seeks to encourage exportation by exempting
all products directly or indirectly exported by the members of the
cartel from the apportionment, or share quota of the individual
members’ sales.
The subsidiary or secondary cartels are:* Schienenkartell (rails),
Feinblechkartell (sheets), Gussrohrkartell (cast-iron pipe), Kartell
fiir schmiedeiserne Rohre (wrought-iron pipe), Draht- und Drahtstiftenverband
 (wire and wire nails), Stahlgusskartell (cast steel),
Achsenkartell (axles), Tireskartell (tires), Rider- und Riderpaareverband
 (wheels and trucks), and Schienennagel- und Schraubenkartell
 (rail spikes and screws).
The Austrian iron works generally are granted by their cartels
export bounties not to exceed the customs duties put upon the goods
by the countries of importation. These bounties are granted because
 the Austrian costs of production are relatively higher than
those of competing countries, but they have not been very effective
sxcept in the case of certain articles, such as wrought-iron pipe.

RUSSIA.

In 1912 Russia produced about 8,000,000 long tons of iron ore,
1,100,000 tons of pig iron, 4,400,000 tons of half products of iron

1K, K. Kartellenquéte, Vienna, 1912, VIII, p. 247.
s Ibid., p. 12.
31bid.. p. 217 fol.