ABSTRACT
The US Government role in agricultural trade under the Long-Term Agreement (LTA) is more of a general promoter than an intervener or controller. A Long-Term Comprehensive Agreement paralleling the LTA would assure market stability for export commercial relations in agricultural technology. Some of the problems in establishing stable long-term trade stemmed from the fundamental differences between the two economic systems and from the degree of importance each country placed on the political factors influencing trade. The market advantages of US agricultural equipment exports to the Soviet Union--price and quality--might not be enough to assure expanding trade unless contract sanctity were guaranteed. The expansion of long-term agricultural trade beyond grain to other products and processing is multifaceted and complex. Moreover, as Soviet comparative advantage shifts their import priorities from grain to agricultural technology, the dynamic balance in their "Food Program," US-Soviet bilateral trade may shift in composition away from grain.
