Reflections on “Perestroika and the Foreign Economic Ties of the USSR”

In his “Perestroika and the Foreign Economic Ties of the USSR,” prepared for the Conference on “Prospects for and Implications of Greater East-West Cooperation,” Dr Vladimir Popov has provided an extremely interesting discussion of the present situation in Soviet foreign trade and outlined a new foreign economic strategy for the Soviet Union. We will briefly summarize his conclusions, with which we are in general agreement. Next, we will examine the preconditions of the proposed changes in terms of domestic economic policy and the measures that may be used to promote exports. Finally, possible implications for Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) trade and for trade with capitalist countries and, in particular, the United States will be considered. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.