Even as Soviet tanks were rumbling through the streets of Vilnius last week and the Bush Administration was softly urging restraint on Moscow the United States was offering an important tradeconcession to the Kremlin.
The concession comes after the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry around June to determine whether Apple had violated antitrust laws with the earlier policy.
Trade negotiations operate on the misguided mercantilist premise that opening domestic markets is a concession to be exchanged for access to foreign ones.
Repudiation of the Bush Administration's recent concession to Moscow whereby the Soviet Union can obtain observer status in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) even before the Kremlin adopts price reform and other market practices needed to make its economy more compatible with the GATT system.