Possible Effects of the Proposed East-West Trade Relations Act Upon U.S. Import, Export,and Credit Controls

In 1966, and again in the President's State of the Union message in January 1967, the Administration announced that it would ask Congress to pass an "East-West Trade Relations Act." The immediate effect of such legislation would be to permit the President to abolish existing discriminatory restrictions upon imports from the Soviet Union or other Communist countries of Eastern Europe (excluding East Germany), in the context of bilateral commercial agreements designed to "provide a framework helpful to private United States firms conducting business relations with Communist state trading agencies."' Such agreements, it is contemplated, would be reached" by instituting regular goverment-to-government negotiations with individual Communist countries concerning commercial and other matters of mutual interest." The agreements would have a maximum duration of three years and would be subject to suspension or termination at any time upon reasonable notice.