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.

Considers problems of strengthening NATO after France's withdrawal.

East-West trade and technology transfer have always been linked to the issue of "national security". The author identifies many different Western doctrines on East-West trade, demonstrating that two basic belief systems underly these doctrines.

Western efforts to control trade and technological relations with communist countries affect many interests and political groups in both Eastern and Western blocs. Although there is general agreement within the Western alliance that government-imposed controls are necessary to prevent material having military importance from falling in the hands of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies, there is considerable controversy over the specifics: the exact definition of "militarily significant" material, how the Western nations should administer controls, the implications of glasnost, and other matters.