Romania and Moldova concluded a bilateral long-term trade agreement in early February.

We also need long-term trade agreements.

Coca-Cola announced Dec. 9 that it had signed a long-term trade agreement for expansion of its business in the Soviet Union.

Early Comecon efforts to facilitate trade among members concentrated on development of uniform technical, legal, and statistical standards and on encouragement of long-term trade agreements.

He argued that long-term trade agreements favor developed countries, resulting in falling prices for commodities produced by poorer nations, an idea that came to be known as the Prebisch-Singer thesis.

Increased reliance on Moscow may now hold out much prospect of improvement in growth, productivity or living standards, but intra-bloc trade at least offers assured markets, predictable performance benchmarks, and the kind of long-term trading agreements which are the staple of central planning and of central planners.

"East Germany has 750 separate bilateral agreements that will have to be dealt with," Professor Klose said, noting that many were long-term trade agreements, like crude oil and iron ore imports from the Soviet Union, that tied the East German economy to its former Eastern-bloc partners.