United States trade relations with the Communist countries are not very extensive but require policymakers' attention because of the adversary relationship between the West and the Soviet bloc and because systemic differences between market and planned economies make trading relations more complex. The United States has sought to use its greater economic strength vis-à-vis the Communist countries to achieve short-term political objectives. These efforts have been unsuccessful largely because we have overestimated the extent of our economic power. At the same time, by neglecting to seek out achievable objectives in the economic sphere, we have forgone economic gains from East-West trade.
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References
1.
1. Ronald Amann, Julian Cooper, and Robert Davies, eds., The Technological Level of Soviet Industry (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977), pp. 12-16.
2.
2. Joseph S. Berliner, The Innovation Decision in Soviet Industry (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1976), pp. 523-524.
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3. Donald W. Green and Herbert S. Levine, “Soviet Machinery Imports,”Survey, 23:112, 126 (Spring 1978).
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4. Philip Hanson, “Impact of Western Technology: The Soviet Mineral Fertilizer Industry,” in East European Integration and East-West Trade, eds. Paul Marer and John Michael (Bloomington: Indiana University Press), pp. 278-279.
