579 



The Export Administration Act has effected significant changes in 

 the U.S. administration of export controls. In the first year after its 

 passage, 1,550 commodities were made available under general license 

 for countries in Group Y. Trade with Romania was further liberal- 

 ized, and in 1971 the President relaxed the U.S. embargo on Commu- 

 nist China, freeing many nonstrategic goods for export to China under 

 general license. Since passage of the law in 1969. there has been a sus- 

 tained effort to remove controls from most items not controlled by 

 other COCOM countries. Most of the export license applications for 

 Eastern Europe that have been denied by the U.S. Government have 

 been for items also under COCOM controls. In its 100th quarterly 

 report, for example, the Commerce Department reported that all appli- 

 cations that were denied for the second quarter of 1972 involved com- 

 modities subject to COCOM controls. 88 The reduction of the number 

 of embargoed items has been accompanied by new export clearance 

 procedures to expedite the licensing process. 



The U.S. exporter to Communist countries is still confronted with 

 greater barriers than his counterparts in other Western countries. U.S. 

 businessmen complain that tighter T'.S. controls and time-consuming 

 procedures for licensing exports of technology give other Western 

 companies a considerable advantage. Foreign competitors sometimes 

 obtain information on pending U.S. exports which puts them in a 

 favorable competitive position. Approval of applications of export 

 licenses can take from a few weeks to several months. 



Nonetheless, evidence suggests that relaxation of controls has rap- 

 idly expanded opportunities for sale of American technology to the 

 Soviet Union. In 1971, for example, there was a significant increase 

 in the dollar value of export licenses for the Soviet Union: the total 

 dollar value in 1971 was $1.27 billion, compared with only $1.51 million 

 the year before. 89 The bulk of the increase was attributable to the 

 licensing of U.S. machinery and. technology for the Soviet automotive 

 industry. In accordance with the Export Administration Act, the De- 

 partment of Commerce has narrowed the range of exports subject to 

 controls. Many items embodying modern technology but having no di- 

 rect military significance are now exportable to the Soviet Union under 

 general licenses. Among the items decontrolled in recent months are 

 construction and agricultural equipment, electronic equipment, se- 

 lected synthetic rubber manufactures, selected metals and metal man- 

 ufactures, chemicals, and photographic equipment. Moreover, many 

 exports of technical data, blueprints, and patented processes which 

 were formerly controlled are now exportable under general licenses. 



In the past, export controls have been the most direct barrier to the 

 transfer of technology from the United States to the Soviet Union. 

 However, changes brought about by the Export Administration Act 

 have minimized the effect of export controls on U.S. -Soviet economic 

 relations. In conjunction with other changes in Soviet-American trade 

 relations, export control liberalization paves the way for U.S. ex- 

 porters to expand their sales in the Soviet Union. The ability to export 



88 Export Control, 100th Quarterly Report, 2d Quarter 1972. Washington, D.C., U.S. 

 Dept. of Commerce, 1972, p. 7. 



** Export Control, 99th Quarterly Report, 1st Quarter 1972. Washington. D.C.. U.S. 

 Dept. of Commerce, p. S. 



