Soviets Approve 5-Year Deal for American Grain : Trade: U.S. officials believe the pact’s timing is another sign that Moscow is serious about improving its trade ties.

The United States and the Soviet Union announced agreement in principle Thursday on a long-term grain accord that will enable Moscow to step up its purchases of American grain by 1 million metric tons a year over the next five years.

U.S. officials said the fact that Moscow was willing to negotiate a new agreement nine months before the current accord expires was further evidence that the Soviets are serious about improving trade ties with the United States.

The talks that led to two previous accords went right down to the wire before the two sides could agree on specifics. The pact now in effect is to expire on Dec. 31.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Soviets will buy a minimum of 10 million metric tons of U.S. grain a year, up 1 million metric tons a year from the current accord. A metric ton is 2,200 pounds.

At the same time, the deal will give the Soviets more flexibility in buying, enabling them to choose every year between wheat and feed grains as long as the transactions meet the minimum purchase requirements over the life of the accord.

The agreement came as the two sides completed a third round of negotiations on a broader trade accord, designed to develop a framework for general trade between the two countries as a prelude to eventual restoration of trade benefits that Washington has withheld since 1974.

U.S. officials say they hope to have the broader accord worked out in time for President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev to sign at their long-planned summit meeting, now scheduled for late May or June in Washington.

The Bush Administration hailed the new grain accord. U.S. Trade Representative Carla A. Hills and Agriculture Secretary Clayton K. Yeutter issued a statement saying the pact would “enlarge market opportunities for America’s farmers, who are super-competitive.”

However, Carol Brookins, president of World Perspectives, a Washington-based agricultural trade consulting firm, said that while the accord was welcome, it contained no real breakthroughs and was about in line with previous expectations.

The accord calls for purchases of at least 4 million metric tons each of wheat and feed grains each year, plus another 2 million metric tons a year of either wheat, feed grains, soybeans or soybean meal.

It also permits Moscow to substitute up to 750,000 metric tons of one commodity for another during any year’s buying.

The accord is not expected to have any significant impact on grain supplies in the United States. The agreement was hammered out in Vienna late Wednesday by Julius L. Katz, the deputy U.S. trade representative, and Yuriy Chumakov, deputy Soviet foreign minister for foreign economic relations.

The broader trade negotiations that the two sides are conducting are designed to lay the groundwork for Washington to confer “most-favored-nation” status on the Soviet Union--a move that would provide Soviet exports with the same trade preferences that most other nations receive.

President Bush promised most-favored-nation benefits as well as observer status for the Soviets in international trade organizations during the Malta summit he held with Gorbachev last December. The United States had planned to grant Moscow most-favored-nation status in the early 1970s, but was blocked by Congress over the issue of emigration from the Soviet Union.

AN AGREEMENT ON GRAIN The United States and the Soviet Union have reached agreement on a five-year grain purchase pact that guarantees $1 billion of annual American grain sales to the Soviet Union. The deal: The five-year pact assures minimum Soviet purchases of at least 10 million metric tons of U.S. wheat, corn, soybeans or soymeal exports to the Soviet Union each year. That is up from 9 million tons in the current pact, which expires next Dec. 31. The Soviets get greater flexibility in choosing between wheat and feed grains purchases on a year-to-year basis. The Soviets get guarantees against supply disruptions. U.S. farmers get guaranteed exports. The background: U.S.-Soviet grain pacts stretch back to the mid-1970s, and were cancelled after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1980 before being restored in the mid-1980s. U.S. and Soviet officials have been meeting in Vienna on general trade talks. The future: U.S. and Soviet officials are talking about lowering U.S. barriers to Soviet exports and protecting U.S. exports to Moscow. Washington is considering granting Moscow most-favored-nation trade status, which would offer advantageous commercial terms.