European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 5, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Limits loosened on mailing parcels to soviet Union monday decembers 19hb the stars and stripes Page 27 i new York not the soviet Union has agreed for the first time to allow private citizen in the United tales to Send copies of the Bible and talmud u Well As personal compute Sand videotape recorders among other items to friends and relatives in the so Viet Union according to soviet officials and a businessman who signed a contract saturday with the soviet Trade delegation in new York. The agreements signed on the eve of visit to new York by the soviet Leader Mikhail s. Gorbachev reflect the general loosening of restrictions that have in the past limited contacts Between the two countries soviet experts and postal officials said the expansion also will increase the flow of foreign currency payments into the soviet Union since import duties on All the new items must be prepaid in Theun led slates. And although both sides said Man details were still to be worked out the changes were hailed by human rights advocates and soviet jewish organizations. I brought a Box of matzoh to the signing and they said it would probably be All right it just had t occurred totem said Sidney Reiner a new York City businessman who saturday morning signed a contract to begin parcel ship ments in a few months. Although gifts from . Citizens have never been entirely curtailed the restrictions about what could be sent and who would pay the import duties have made it very difficult particularly in the Las few years. In 1984, the soviet Union terminate contracts with the handful of companies that had been doing limited parcel ship ments including Reiner s firm Cosmos parcel corp. Since then for every package Send the recipient in the soviet Union had to pay the often Steep import fees which can to today superstition an to monday s programs amount to hundreds of dollars for each individual item. Meanwhile the lists of what could be Send were mostly limit Edlo clothing. The new agreements contain nearly double the number of listed items. Newly permissible gifts Range from Bubble Gunto computer disks Rosary beads and though More tentatively matzoh an prayer shawls. An official at the soviet Union s offi Cial Trade corporation am org. Con firmed Friday thai discussions were being held and that contracts were Pend ing with various companies including Reiner a to resume and expand the Par cel business the official who asked that his name not be used said he had not been authorized 10 discuss specific plans since the contracts were in negotiation. No one an swered Telephone Calls to am Toije s Man Hattan offices after the meeting with Reiner Early saturday. Reiner 36, who has done business inthe soviet Union since the 1950s, said that two other parcel shipment Compa Nies one in Philadelphia and one in san Francisco bad also signed contracts at the san Francisco company rus Sart there was no answer saturday. No Telephone listing could be found for the other company new world manage ment inc. At the . Postal service a spokes Man said officials have heard rumblings from Moscow since Early this year that the restrictions on parcel shipments would be  the soviet postal ministry has not formally confirmed that or Given us the particulars so we re still operating with a fairly extensive list of prohibitions said Michael j. Regan a senior adviser for International relations at the postal service. One has the sense that there is a lot of lugging and hauling about what ingoing to be permitted he   in m pm dts Chi of Kim Oman of mum Emu tout it pm in Iipp a tit us phone h a mourn. Tuesday s programs  . Pm abcs Wilh too  ot15  shorn my by Tor Tad t caul Tim kit my a noun Tor Diu gig h Hill Irwin. A cuu a i we Llu Torl la no com is Nehm Hisim. 1405 cuttingugin110s Emir pm him a of lust a Init no a kit up 1w few of Aorta cd Mil no won to be a. Inn 910001 Merit bin 1kh Tim trim 1fflcrtiw9fffmT_ _ t _._1900 Fht 1320 Mortt fowl. Iks our Lei Ming co Tim Mir Lif Tope if. I�9 Haca not Amyatt Imit Ummat Jess  pm Mca n a Wavy Ullig. Aung pm Gnu Nawi . Bin Fortt Midbo it big