Inter-COMECON trade as a share of total trade by country 1971-1975

The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON or CMEA) was the Soviet-centric economic organization that was largely made up of Eastern Bloc countries during the Cold War, as well as other socialist states such as Cuba, Mongolia and Vietnam. Cold War tensions meant that there was much less international trade between the east and west than there is today, and COMECON member states became more reliant on trade with one another. Of the seven European member states listed here (Albania was also a member at this time, but was largely inactive from 1961 onwards), Romania and the Soviet Union were the only who traded more with non-member states than within the COMECON. For the eastern European states, their largest trading partner was the Soviet Union; these states became dependent on the USSR for fuel and raw materials, although they were given much steeper discounts than non-COMECON states, and the Soviet Union often prioritized imports from member states over alternative sources.

Notable communist non-members were Yugoslavia, who held an "associate" status, and China, who held an "observer" status (but was largely inactive from 1961 onwards). Yugoslavia did enjoy more economic autonomy than most other Eastern Bloc states, and had greater access to trade with the west, however increasing tariffs from the European Communities saw Yugoslavia redirect much of its exports to COMECON states, the share of which rose from 32.3 percent in 1973 to 41.9 percent in 1978.