Industrial buyer attitudes towards goods made in eastern Europe

Little has been recorded on trade between Eastern Europe and the United States, and there has been little penetration of U.S. markets by Eastern European manufacturers. The study reported in this article set out to enquire whether the process of detente might lead to a growth in imports of industrial goods from Eastern Europe by the U.S., or whether buyer attitudes were likely to inhibit this. It concludes that buyers have very negative attitudes towards Eastern European manufacturing sources, and, so far as could be determined, this applied whether or not the purchaser has experience of buying from Eastern Europe. Manufacturers in these countries, it is suggested, must develop, through high profile marketing, much more positive images, if they are to succeed in the U.S. market.