The Nation : High-Tech Curbs Backed

Pentagon officials defended their policy of blocking the export of high-technology goods to the Soviet Bloc, and they countered a National Academy of Sciences report that said such controls hurt America more than they help it. The report said that “national security export controls impede the ability of the United States to compete in world markets” and cost the U.S. economy 188,000 jobs and $9 billion in 1985. Stephen Bryen, deputy undersecretary of defense for trade security policy, rejected that conclusion, saying “if you weaken our export controls, you hand the Soviets direct access to our technology . . . their No. 1 espionage target.” The recommendations of the NAS report, Bryen said, “would unwind what is a very effective program.”