U.S. and Russia in huge trade deal

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32779, 2 December 1971, Page 15

U.S. and Russia in huge trade deal

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) MOSCOW, December 1. The prospects of a substantial boost to trade between the United States and the Soviet Union looked brighter than ever today after the signing of a SUSI2Sm equipment-for-metals deal.

This brought the amount of business agreed between the two countries in the course of a single month to SUSIOOm more than last year’s total trade turnover between them.

Last night’s deal under which the Soviet Union will supply non-ferrous metals in exchange for equipment for ore and oil extraction, and certain other items, was announced by the news agency, Tass, but neither it nor the United States Embassy in Moscow disclosed how long a period the deal would cover, nor which non-ferrous metals Russia would supply. The deal comes at the end of a 12-day visit to Moscow by the United States Secretary of Commerce (Mr Maurice Stans), to discuss ways of increasing commercial exchanges between the world’s largest capitalist and Communist States.

The contract, between the New York-based Satra Corporation and the Soviet Union Foreign Trade Ministry follows an agreement by which the United States will sell Russia SUSI3Sm worth of feed grains. Between them, these two contracts add up to total Soviet Union imports of SUS2OOm almost double

last year’s American exports to Russia. Mr Stans, who leaves Moscow today, told a press conference last night: “There could be a very substantial development in our commercial relationships.” He did not make any reference to the new contract, although he watched the signing ceremony within minutes of leaving his press conference. The first word of it came from Tass.

Mr Stans said that officials of the two countries would meet in Washington in about a month to go in more detail into the priorities to be aimed at in bilateral trade. His talks with the Soviet Union Prime Minister (Mr Kosygin), the Minister of Foreign Trade (Mr Nikolai Patolichev) and other Ministers had been aimed at opening doors to future trade, but he had not discussed any particular items in detail. Mr Stans cited natural gas, oil, timber and other natural resources as items American businessmen might like to import from Russia, while American equipment, knowhow and farm produce were of interest to the Soviet Union.

Among the problems still to be tackled, he said, were Moscow’s desire for credit to import from the United States and most-favoured-na-tion treatment for her exports. The non-ferrous metals contract will earn Russia SUS6Om —about an eighth of last year’s Soviet Union exports of these materials; which included aluminium, copper, zinc, lead and magnesium.

Which of these will be involved in the new deal is still a matter of guesswork.