531 



new policy related to Soviet military-strategic goals? Does the Soviet 

 leadership's interest in economic ties with the United States portend 

 a new era of international stability and cooperation, or is it merely 

 an effort to gain temporary economic advantage? Are there changes in 

 Soviet security and foreign policy concomitant with expanding com- 

 mercial relations which are likely to provide net benefit to the United 

 States? Are there elements in the situation which could lead to poten- 

 tially dangerous forms of interaction and interdependence in future 

 U.S.-Soviet relations? If U.S. and Soviet leaders decide that ex- 

 panded economic relations are mutually advantageous, major institu- 

 tional changes may have to be made. 



Trade mid Technology 



A central feature of Soviet economic relations with Western indus- 

 trial countries, including the United States, has always been the trans- 

 fer of technology from highly advanced Western industrial sectors to 

 relatively backward Soviet industries. The Soviet Union has tradi- 

 tionally paid for its imports of technology primarily by exporting 

 valuable raw materials, including energy resources. Despite important 

 Soviet advances in certain industrial sectors, the technology gap be- 

 tween the Soviet Union and the West persists. Consequently, the basic 

 structure of U.S.-Soviet trade is likely to remain unchanged in the 

 foreseeable future. 



Technology is transferred between countries in a number of ways. 

 Flows of published information, such as technical journals and books, 

 the foreign travel of students, scientists and engineers, technical aid 

 and cooperation programs arranged by governments, and foreign com- 

 merce, are frequently-used channels for transferring technical infor- 

 mation. While all of these channels may be used in future U.S.-Soviet 

 relations, commercial .exchanges of technology — the importation of 

 machinery, equipment, and relevant literature, agreements on patents, 

 licensing and know-how, and direct foreign investments and opera- 

 tions of multinational corporations — are the focus of this study. 



A wide variety of U.S.-Soviet commercial exchanges are likely to 

 involve technology transfers. Transfers may take place in new, dy- 

 namic industries, such as those producing computers, chemicals and 

 electronics, or in traditional sectors, such as agriculture. Consequently, 

 while giving special attention to prospective technological transfers, 

 the study will consider the broad range of U.S.-Soviet economic 

 relations. 



Current projections indicate a substantial increase in U.S.-Soviet . 

 economic exchanges. Improved economic relations are officially con- 

 sidered to be part of a pattern of changing U.S.-Soviet relations in 

 many areas. The trade agreement, along with the Summit agreements 

 on strategic arms limitations and other matters, links national security 

 considerations, economic relations, technology policy, and the conduct 

 of diplomacy between the two major powers. 2 President Richard Nixon 



2 The interaction of various aspects of U.S.-Soviet relations is perhaps best demonstrated 

 in the Joint U.S.-Soviet Communique issued at the conclusion of President Nixon's visit to 

 the Soviet Union on May 29, 1972. The communique enumerates a number of areas in which 

 the prospects for greater cooperation seemed favorable. See "Joint Communique," in Presi- 

 dent Nixon in Moscow (Washington, D.C. : United States Information Service, 1972), 

 pp. 18-24. 



