In considering the relationship between the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs and any given state, one must examine not only the economic reasons for acceptance and participation, but also the political. This is especially true when dealing with the Soviet Union. In researching this topic, I have found that economics and politics are deeply interwoven into the fabric of international dealings with the Soviets on any level and at any given time.
Soviet participation in the GATT goes back to the very beginnings of the Bretton Woods institutions and of the International Trade Organization. While this participation runs contrary to our Cold War ideology, during World War II it was very much in the Allies best interest to assure Soviet Participation.
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the implementation of Mikhail Gorbachev\u27s perestroika and glasnost, it has once again become economically and politically in the West\u27s best interest to include the Soviets in the economic order. However, tensions left over from the Cold War have not dissipated easily and many, including the U.S., are precluding the accession of the Soviets to the GATT. This is wrong. The Soviet Union and the GATT are not technically/economically opposite institutions, and therefore political attitudes should change to include the Soviets within the Western circle of friends
