O.K. To Log On, Comrades

George Bush returned from his first presidential trip to Eastern Europe last week eager to bring a little glasnost of his own to East-West relations. In that spirit, the Commerce Department announced a decision that cleared the way for the sale of a broad range of desktop computers to the Soviet Union and its allies. Under the plan, such companies as IBM and Apple Computer will be able to export machines ten times as powerful as older units that may now be shipped without special approval. But the sale of top-of-the-line models, notably the Macintosh II and IBM models equipped with the high-speed Intel 80386 microprocessor, will still be subject to strict controls.

The plan exposed a rift within the Administration over trade policy. Commerce Department officials argued that easing export controls would allow U.S. companies to compete with computer makers in such countries as Taiwan and Singapore, which already sell relatively advanced machines to Soviet-bloc buyers. But Defense Secretary Richard Cheney, who advocates strict controls on the transfer of American technology to Moscow, warned that the Soviets would use the U.S. computers for military purposes. Nonetheless, a Cheney aide said the Defense Secretary would not ask Bush to reverse the Commerce Department decision.

U.S. computer executives greeted the plan with mild interest. While a spokesman for Apple noted that “we are pleased with the decision,” he added that Soviet-bloc countries lack the marketing skills and hard currencies necessary to produce strong sales volume. Even so, hackers in Moscow were excited by the prospect of more American computers. “This is very important to us,” said a Soviet computer importer. “Almost every day we have customers who come to our office ready to do business.”