Complementarities in Terms of Resource Endowments, Industrial and Technological Capacities among Non-Aligned-and Other Developing Countries" from the National Industrial Development Corporation (NIDC of India. The study was brought out in 1979 and covered agro-induslries, leather, petro-chemicals, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, capital goods industries and agricultural machinery and implements. Developing countries as a group can decide and agree on broad policy measures. Specific cooperation arrangements have to be worked out painstakingly among groups of interested countries on a sub-regional basis.3 The more industrialised of the developing countries, eg, Brazil, China, India, Republic of Korea, Mexico, etc, have indeed been active bilaterally both to provide capital flows and promote trade with other southern countries. Among the sub-regional groupings, PTA (Preferential Trade Area) in Africa has made some progress. According to one study,4 semi-peripheral countries, e g, those mentioned above, will be able to expand when the world economy contracts. "The semi-peripheral countries can usually expand their control of their own internal markets and at the same time strengthen their positions on the peripheral markets!' In the absence of an international economic order conducive to South-South cooperation, advantage will be taken of. such measures as countertrade to strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit. Peru recantly signed a countertrade agreement with Coda, a Brazilian trading company, trading the former's copper, zinc, manufactured goods and some oil for the latter's food, industrial equipment, raw materials and spare parts. Brazil has been paying for its oil imports through barter deals to the extent of 31 per cent in 1984 and a projected 70 per cent in 1985 and 90 per cent in 1986. Brazil has barter arrangements with China and Nigeria enabling it to import oil in exchange for everything from Volkswagen cars, guns and petrochemicals to Soybeans and coffee. India has for long had bilateral trade and payment arrangements with communist countries and could extend such arrangements to developing countries. Perhaps a trade and payments arrangement could be worked out within SARC (South Asia Regional Co-operation).
