Business Notes Trade

In recent years the chill in Washington-Moscow relations has turned the annual meetings of the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Trade and Economic Council into a littlenoticed and lightly attended affair. But last week, in search of a bonanza, Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige and more than 400 U.S. business leaders descended on Moscow for this year's meeting. Last year trade between the two countries amounted to only $3.9 billion, mostly in grain shipments from the U.S. Yet the executives got a jolt of optimism from last month's summit talks between President Reagan and Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev. They came to Moscow in the hope that business would follow the banner of detente.

In a speech to the U.S. businessmen, Gorbachev offered only moderate encouragement. The Soviet leader criticized American policies that link trade with politics. One U.S. law, for example, limits trade because of Soviet barriers to Jewish emigration. Even so, at least one new deal has been struck. Avon Products announced an agreement last week to swap about $4 million of its cosmetics for Soviet china and crystal.