Soviets Seek U.S. Trade--With Ad in Wall Street Journal

The Soviet government, in an extraordinary nine-page advertising supplement in today’s issues of the Wall Street Journal, urges U.S. businessmen to take advantage “of the untapped opportunities for expanding Soviet-U.S. trade.”

The ad, consisting largely of articles by Soviet officials, also exhorts U.S. companies to take part in joint ventures that Kremlin leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev has said he hopes will be the key to his efforts to restructure the Soviet economy.

Economic cooperation could have political payoffs for the West, Soviet First Deputy Trade Minister Vladislav L. Malkevich noted.

The Soviets have passed legislation allowing Western companies to own a 49% stake in joint ventures based in the Soviet Union, but negotiations with U.S. companies have failed to yield any firm agreements.