ABSTRACT
The US and its Western European allies have reached new agreements on overall East-West trade in NATO, on energy security in the International Energy Agency, on subsidized credits in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and on the transfer of strategic technology in the International Coordinating Committee in Paris. The Secretary has stated that because trade with the West affects the Soviet economy, we and our allies must devise trade policies "with full awareness of the security interests at stake." The Administration is seeking a long-term American and alliance strategy on East-West economic relations that has the coherence and depth of our military strategy. Therefore, in assessing East-West trade proposals, President Ronald Reagan feels the US must balance the potential economic benefits to certain firms and economic sectors against possible losses to Western security. The significance of officially supported credits goes far beyond the relatively small amounts of lending actually extended by Western governments.
