563 



TABLE 6.-U.S. IMPORTS FROM U.S.S.R. 

 II n thousands of dollars) 



Major commodity type' 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 



Crude materials 16,377 14,410 15,505 14,470 18,314 15,388 



Furskins 6,302 4,227 4,633 5,059 3,334 2,731 



Chromeore 6,323 6,785 7,297 7,807 13,691 11,147 



Nonferrous metal scrap 739 914 1,332 700 767 1,292 



Mineral fuels and related materials 2 5 5 1,777 2,807 652 



Chemicals 1,387 1,125 1,017 1,312 913 1,062 



Organic chemicals 9 98 8 429 399 220 



Inorganic chemicals _ 1,208 822 857 727 143 584 



Manufactures 30,251 21,725 39,969 32,079 46,451 35,725 



Glass . .... 931 1,050 1,264 1,315 1,492 1,614 



Diamonds and precious stones 3,542 6,810 10,828 11,018 13,439 11,244 



Platinum, etc . .. 19,048 10,725 24,963 14,063 22,887 19,515 



Nonferrous base metals.. 1,041 2,993 2,228 5,295 7,996 2,728 



Miscellaneous 459 557 1,071 1,610 2,666 3,044 



Manufactured articles: Jewelry and precious metal articles 943 1,872 1,973 



Total imports 49,414 41,046 58,357 51,504 72,312 57,598 



1 Subcommodity types may not add to total because of omission of insignificant items. 

 Source: "Peterson Report" (1972), Annex B, p. 16. 



Other products which the Soviet Union now exports in large quan- 

 tities to the industrial West are crude oil and petroleum products and 

 wood and wood products. The United States currently imports rela- 

 tively little of these two categories from the Soviet Union. (See Tables 

 5 and 6.) With a relaxation of barriers to U.S. -Soviet trade, the Soviet 

 Union is unlikely to increase substantially its sales of wood products to 

 the United States (a net exporter of wood) ; probably, only small 

 quantities of certain types of wood not produced in the United States 

 would be sold. However, rising prices and timber product shortage in 

 the United States may generate a greater demand for Soviet wood. On 

 the other hand, Soviet exports of petroleum products (which the 

 United States imports in ever increasing quantities) would undoubt- 

 edly expand rapidly if the Soviet Union could produce sufficient 

 surpluses. 



A major hard-currency earner for the Soviet Union is diamonds. 

 Although Soviet foreign trade officials do not reveal the value of 

 diamonds sold to Western countries, it is reported to be quite large. 

 For example, the Soviet Union reportedly sells up to $200 million worth 

 of diamonds every year through a London bank. 08 Other sales have 

 been reported in New York, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam. 69 Be- 

 cause the Soviet Union does not enjoy MFX status, Soviet diamonds 

 are at present subject to high U.S. tariffs. If MFN status is granted, 

 Soviet exporters will undoubtedly increase their sales of diamonds in 

 the United States. 



The potential for Soviet exports of high-technology industrial prod- 

 ucts to the United States remains uncertain. Unlike that of most in- 

 dustrialized countries, the structure of Soviet exports remains heavily 

 biased toward raw materials, foodstuffs, and semi-manufactures. The 

 commodity composition of Soviet exports may result from the leader- 

 ship's priorities — that is. potentially exportable, technologically ad- 

 vanced products may be reserved for high-priority domestic civilian 



88 Economist, Jan. 6, 1973, p. 18. 



09 "The USSR's Undisclosed Assets," Radio Free Europe Research, Jan. 11, 1973. 



