Forty-four years ago today, on December 29, 1981 (December 4, 1981), US President Ronald Reagan announced economic sanctions against the Soviet Union. On December 29, 1981, US President Ronald Reagan announced in a statement issued by the White House that, in view of the Soviet Union's "significant and direct responsibility" for developments in Poland, the United States decided to impose immediate economic sanctions on the Soviet Union. Earlier, Reagan had written to warn Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev that "if the Polish repression continues, the United States will have no choice but to take further concrete political and economic measures affecting our relations." In today's statement, Reagan said that Brezhnev's reply clearly shows that the Soviet Union "does not understand the seriousness of our concerns." Reagan said that the economic sanctions imposed by the United States on the Soviet Union included: interrupting all flights of Soviet airlines to the United States; ordering the closure of the Soviet Purchasing Committee; stopping the issuance and renewal of licenses for the export of electronic equipment, computers, and other advanced technical equipment to the Soviet Union; postponing negotiations on a new long-term grain agreement; suspending negotiations on a new U.S.-Soviet maritime agreement; expanding exports of oil and gas equipment to the Soviet Union would require approval; ordering the suspension of licenses for the export of such equipment to the Soviet Union, including pipe laying machines; not renewing U.S.-Soviet exchange agreements that should be renewed in the near future, including energy, science, and technology agreements, and conducting a comprehensive review of all other U.S.-Soviet exchange agreements. "We will closely monitor developments in Poland in the coming days and weeks. I will be prepared to take further steps if necessary," the statement said.