US says new grain deal with Soviets agreed on

July 29, 1983

The United States and the Soviet Union reached ''agreement in principle'' on terms of a new long-term grain sales agreement, the Reagan administration announced.

The agreement was reached between US and Soviet trade negotiators in Vienna. It marked a further effort by President Reagan to regain a large share of the Soviet import market lost after President Carter embargoed grain sales to Moscow in January 1980. Reagan lifted the embargo in April 1981, but the Soviets have diversified their purchases of grain, buying also from countries like Argentina, Canada and Australia.