WORLD IN BRIEF : WORLDWIDE : Significant Decline in Arms Trade Told

Global military spending and arms trading fell significantly in 1990 despite the buildup to the Gulf War, and the United States replaced the Soviet Union as the main exporter, taking 40% of the market, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its 1991 yearbook. Total world military spending fell in real terms by 5% to $950 billion in 1990, compared with a 2% decline in 1989, the institute said. Global trade in conventional arms fell 35%. But persistent regional and ethnic conflicts mean world security will not rise much as arms spending falls, the institute said.