ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how diplomatic and trade-political game changed the making and maintaining of international commodity cartels in the 1930s. Focussing on European softwood timber trade, this chapter analyses the largest producers, Finland and Sweden, and asks how the changing international political economy and diplomatic environment shaped the way how international cartels were set up. While previous research has recognised that the national governments and the League of Nations promoted commodity cartels in the 1930s, firms’ responses towards this increased public and political interest have been less studied. This chapter starts filling the gap and discusses the strategies that the Nordic timber firms adopted when several European governments and League of Nations started promoting international timber cartels in the early 1930s. Based on a broad archive material, this chapter contributes to historical understanding of the diversity of actors and motivations on how, why, and by whom international commodity cartels were negotiated and maintained in the decade of de-globalisation and trade wars. It highlights the diplomatic aspects behind cartelisation and concludes that firms, which traditionally are considered as key actors in cartels, were sometimes the least enthusiastic partners in them.
