CONFIDENTIAL
6. The policy of importing Western plant and knowhow in order to modernise Soviet industry and agriculture was endorsed at the Party Congress in February of this year, but concern was also evident at the problem of financing.
It was proposed that raw materials should be exported in a more highly processed form, that attention should be concentrated on the most profitable materials, and that whole industries could be set up tailored to the demands of Western markets. More realistically, perhaps, great emphasis was placed on the need wherever possible to conclude compensation deals (a form of barter) which minimise expendi- ture of hard currency.
7. Overall, Soviet dependence on foreign trade remains low, with total turnover in 1975 equivalent to only 8.9% of estimated Soviet GNP; the correspond- ing figure for the UK is over 40%. Soviet turnover was about 25% of that of the United States and only just over 50% of United Kingdom visible trade.
CONFIDENTIAL