Debate around U.S. Foreign Trade Legislation as an Element of Détente in Soviet-American Relations (1969–1979)

Abstract

Détente in Soviet-American relations throughout the 1970s was a complex and multifaceted process. The interaction of the two states as regards foreign trade, technology transfer and scientific exchanges was an important part of it. On the one hand, according to some détente ideologists, a critical mass of commercial ties along with scientific and technological projects established in accordance with the tenets of equality and mutual benefit could have created conditions for overcoming the Cold War and maintaining peaceful coexistence in the foreseeable future. At the same time, it was in the sphere of foreign trade that sharp disagreements first manifested themselves, indicating a clear-cut rift between the external political goals of the superpowers and the ability of their internal legislative systems to address these challenges. This article is devoted to reviewing the processes of transforming US foreign trade legislation during the détente period. It aims to insert this track into the pattern of forming Washington's course towards the Soviet state from the late 1960s to 1979. The research draws on the documents of both chambers of Congress, revealing the content of the debate on the adoption of export regulation laws and reflecting the views on this issue that existed at that time. The digital documents of the US State Department and Presidents R. Nixon and J. Carter are used to reflect their attitude vis-à-vis trade matters. It is shown how the executive and legislative branches interacted when updating the regulatory framework of foreign trade. The conclusion holds that while maintaining the general liberal vector in drafting foreign trade laws, they have always contained control standards for high-tech products export to socialist countries aimed at curbing scientific and technological progress in the USSR. As a result, the economic, scientific and technical foundation of détente in Soviet-American relations remained feeble and proved inadequate for preventing the confrontational recession in the early 1980s.