East-West Trade: An Estimate of Potential and Gains. The trade potential of the Soviet Union and the six European Comecon countries is estimated for 1990. The projections are obtained by extrapolating an empirical relationship between export and import totals on one side, and gross national product and population (a proxy for scale) on the other. On the basis of thus projected trade figures plausible gains are assessed.Le potentiel commercial de l'Union Soviétique et des six pays européens du Comecon est estimé ici pour 1990. On obtient ces projections en extrapolant une relation empirique entre les exportations et les importations totales d'une part et le produit national brut et la population (une approximation pour la « taille ») d'autr...