U.S. Pledges Help for Baltics--but Officials Warn It Won’t Be Massive : Foreign aid: Washington will begin dealing directly with the 3 states instead of with Moscow.

The Bush Administration pledged Tuesday to help the newly recognized Baltic republics cope with some of the problems that will accompany their independence, but officials warned that large-scale U.S. economic aid is unlikely.

“We’ll want to be able to work out what’s the most appropriate way of working directly with the Baltic states to support their independence and support them along the path that they have chosen,” said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

But Boucher said that he knows of no new aid programs under consideration for Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. He said that the United States will begin dealing directly with the three republics, instead of the central Soviet government, on any assistance to the region.

Another Administration official said that the Baltic states are beneficiaries of at least one existing U.S. aid program, a cooperative effort with Project Hope to send donated drugs and other medical supplies to areas of the Soviet Union where they are needed. Since February, about $10 million worth of donated supplies has been sent.

U.S. officials acknowledged that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will need substantial help to build the sort of economic structures that will be required, if they hope to become part of the Western economic system.

But the officials said that the 12-nation European Community and the neighboring Scandinavian nations are expected to take the lead in providing such assistance. They said that U.S. budget problems have squeezed all foreign aid programs and that coming up with money to bail out the Baltic economies appears all but impossible.

Agriculture Secretary Edward R. Madigan said that a new interagency task force will be established this week “to assess what types of programs that we have available to be of assistance to the Baltic states.”

But the three new governments may not qualify for U.S.-backed food credit programs, Madigan said, because U.S. law permits loan guarantees only for borrowers that the Administration can certify to be credit-worthy.

On Capitol Hill, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) called for new efforts to help the Baltic republics defend and build on their newly won independence. But he did not suggest any specific programs.

Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.) chided President Bush for “belated” recognition of Baltic independence. Bradley said that he would push for “immediate enactment” of a bill he introduced in July that would grant Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania most-favored-nation trading status.

Meanwhile, the three Baltic republics applied for membership in the United Nations. Their application was introduced by Britain and France. Boucher said that the United States will offer its full support for Baltic admission.

Curtis W. Kamman, one of the State Department’s top European specialists, was in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on Tuesday, his first stop in a visit to all three Baltic republics. Boucher said Kamman will make arrangements to establish U.S. embassies--probably in temporary quarters in hotel rooms--in the three states.

Steps Toward U.N. Membership

France and Britain formally proposed Tuesday that the three Baltic states join the United Nations. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia have declared independence from the Soviet Union.

* At the request of the Baltic leaders, ambassadors from France and Britain presented the three nations’ formal applications for membership to U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar.

* The request for admission will be referred to the U.N. Security Council, which likely will quickly recommend admittance.

* The General Assembly would vote on the resolution when it convenes in late September.

Soviet Trade With the U.S.

Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev is seeking a huge infusion of Western aid. Perhaps more important is establishing additional trade. Some suggest the Soviet Union needs to export more of its natural resources. Here is a quick look at trade with the United States:

WHAT U.S. IMPORTS FROM SOVIET UNION

* According to the Commerce Department, U.S. imports from the Soviet Union reached a new high of $1.1 billion in 1990, less than 0.5% of overall U.S. imports.

* Among Western industrial nations, the United States ranked 10th in imports from the Soviet Union; Germany was first.

* Silver and platinum metals top the imports

* Oil

* Radioactive materials

* Inorganic chemicals

* Vodka and alcoholic beverages

* Uranium and ores

WHAT U.S.S.R. IMPORTS FROM U.S.

* Grain is the chief U.S. export to the Soviets

* Food

* Manufactured goods

* Computers

MOST-FAVORED-NATION STATUS

President Bush has sent Congress a trade agreement to give the Soviet Union and the Baltic states most-favored-nation status, allowing them to sell goods in the United States at the lowest available tariffs.