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2 - U.S.–Soviet grain trade before 1974

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2011

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Summary

On July 8, 1972, White House press secretary Ron Ziegler announced that the United States and the Soviet Union had negotiated successfully “the largest long-term commercial trade purchase agreement ever made between two countries.” The Russians had agreed to buy a total of $750 million worth of American grain during the three-year period beginning August 1, 1972. An official summary of the agreement explained:

As part of the agreement, the United States will make available credit through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) for repayment in three years from the dates of deliveries, with the total amount of credit outstanding not to exceed $500 million. Under the agreement the Soviet Union will purchase for deliveries during the first year, August 1, 1972, through July 31, 1973, at least $200 million of U.S.–grown grains.

The sales would make the U.S.S.R. the second largest purchaser of U.S. grain for the next three years, well ahead of every nation but Japan.

President Richard Nixon, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz, Secretary of Commerce Peter Peterson, and other administration officials extolled the benefits of the agreement: added income for grain farmers, the creation of thousands of jobs in agriculture and shipping, a reduction in federal expenditures for grain storage and handling, and an improved balance of payments for the United States.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1984

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