Economic aspects of the Treaty of Buftea-Bucharest (24 April/7 May 1918)

The peace treaty of Buftea-Bucharest, concluded between Romania and the Central Powers on 24th April/7th May 1918, consisted of 31 articles with burdensome military, economic, social and territorial provisions. This paper analyses the economic implications of the peace with information from contemporary sources, as the most important Romanian goods, grain and oil, were vital for Germany's war efforts. Thus, Romania had to export grain to Germany at an imposed price, much below the real value, and the harvest could not be sold to other countries. Similarly, the German authorities received the right to lease Romanian fields for 90 years. These harsh conditions were resisted by the Romanians, who attempted to find the best solutions to avoid implementing the treaty.