ABSTRACT
The grain embargo directed against the Soviet Union from January 4, 1980, through April 24, 1981, actually offers a glimpse into two decisions. The first decision involves the Carter Administration’s imposition of the embargo, while the second involves the Reagan Administration’s removal of the embargo almost sixteen months later. The Soviet people and leaders, the spokesman contended, had grown accustomed to benefitting economically from United States (U. S.) and other Western countries’ agricultural products and industrial technology. The United States had emerged from the recent Iranian revolution looking rather impotent–the American hostages were being held by militant students–and some experts felt the show of weakness had in fact prompted the Soviets to invade Afghanistan. Officials within the administration disagreed over how seriously the embargo would hurt the Soviets. The decision to embargo grain and technology to the Soviet Union represented a major reversal by the Carter Administration on the belief in the usefulness of trade as a political weapon.
