The East-West Trade Control Program: A Defense of the Battle Act

In Government circles the East-West trade control program is usually described as an economic defense effort aimed at building up the strength of the free world vis-a-vis that of the bloc. Yet some maintain that this effort constitutes economic warfare. What is the distinction, if any, between these two terms? To get at the answer to this question, it is necessary to begin by stating that the term economic defense seems to have come intro use only recently in connection with what is known as the cold war, while the concept of economic warfare may be traced several centuries.