Description
Trade and technology transfer have come to occupy a major role in Soviet-American relations. Twice in recent years embargoes have been imposed on the sale of U.S. high technology to the U.S.S.R., and these sanctions have had wide-ranging political and economic consequences in the Soviet Union, Europe, and the United States. The Politics of East-West Trade draws together leading U.S. and European scholars, government officials, and businesspeople to explore the complex issues arising from U.S. trade policies toward the Soviet Union. The book begins with an assessment of the degree to which the Soviet economy is dependent on Western technology imports. In subsequent chapters, in addition to assessing the general nature and volume of U. S .-U. S. S .R. trade, the contributors consider the extent to which Western technology has helped or hindered Soviet economic and technological growth; the specific impact of U.S. trade sanctions in four critical sectors (computers, energy, agriculture, and defense); and the impact in the West of U.S. trade policies (for example, recent embargoes have resulted in the loss of several billion dollars in U.S. equipment and commodity sales to the U.S.S.R.). Examining the serious strains that differences over East-West trade policy have put on U.S. relations with its West European allies, the authors conclude that there are tangible limits on the ability of the United States to use technology trade as leverage to alter Soviet policies.
Table of Contents
Also of Interest -- Preface -- The Politics of East-West Trade -- Quantification of Western Exports of High-Technology Products to the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe -- The Impact of Technology Transfer on Production and Productivity in the U.S.S.R.: The Case of the Ferrous Metals Industry -- Comparative Advantage in Soviet Grain and Energy Trade -- The Impact of U.S. Export Controls on the Soviet Computer Industry -- The Soviet Response to the American Embargo of 1981-82: The Case of Compressors for the Export Gas Pipeline -- Long-Term Agreement (LTA): Some Considerations for Agricultural Trade* -- East-West Trade, Technology Transfer, and Western Security* -- Assessing the Cost to the U.S. Economy of Trade Sanctions Against the U.S.S.R. -- Reaction of the Private Sector to U.S. Foreign Trade Policies Towards the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe* -- The Western Alliance and East-West Trade: In Pursuit of an Integrated Strategy -- East-West Trade: A European Perspective -- The Future of East-West Trade
