The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-03-25
UI-What's Our Move?
M-Wha's Our Move?
The Growing Problem OF East-West Trade

by FRANK o'BRIEN
WASHINGTON NHRussia is Of
ten long On grandiose schemes in
international affairs but a short
and sharp trade in actual perfor.
nance.
Just now Moscow is conjuring
up a vision of 800 million custom
ers, from Germany to Indochina,
for Western production and has
offered TO buy a billion dollars
worth of goods from Britain from
1855 through 1857.
Officials of the US. Commerce
Department see these feelers as
part of q campaign they believe
will soon wind up with a cali for
q return to normal trade relations.
These officials are among the
men who will contribute 30 the
final decision ON the free worlds
reply to the expected Soviet offer.
What it will be they will not say.
Before summarizing the factors
upon which the decision will be
based, here is a short history Of
Moscow's trade campaign:
At the very time (from about
mid-19SS) when the Soviet 'let's-
do-more-bu business" campaign got
under way, Soviet trade with the
free world was falling off.
Il 10 estimated in Washington
that Russian imports from the
West declined from 40 million
dollars in 1852 to about 300 million
in 1853, while Russian exports
declined from around 400 million
to about $50 million. The export
decline was chiefly due to failure
to deliver as much grain to Bri-
tain as the Soviet had promised.
Grain shipments to Britain at
the end of September 1853 were
some 60 million dollars behind the
1852 schedule. The fall in its ex-
ports compelled Russia to use gold
to pay for imports, although they
were down too. The Soviet sold
gold estimated at a minimum of
nearly 100 million dollars in Lon
don during last November and De.
cember to foot the bill.
But if Russia's 1853 trade per-
Torrance was sour, it's promises
were sweeter than ever. Here is
a roundup, from a previously con-
fidential government report, OF
how the Soviet trade offensive
Mikhail A. Menshikov, a former
U.S.S.R. minister of foreign trade,
was sent as ambassador to India
ito negotiate 4 formal arrange
ment of trade" Another top Soviet
trade official was sent to Argentina
to arrange a bilateral trade agree
ment.
Bilateral agreements were
signed with France, Greece and
Iceland. These are barter agree
ments, providing an exchange of
certain Soviet goods for certain
Western goods.
Russia placed ship-buiiding con-
tracts with the United Kingdom,
Italy, France, Finland, the Neither
lands and Denmark and was ne
gotiating at the end OF 1858 with
ship firms in Belgium and West
Germany. Ships ordered included
fishing trawlers, cargo ships, re-
frigerator ships, dredgers, hoat-
ing cranes, tugboats, barges and
tankers.
For the first time in Communist
RusSia's history, the Soviet Union
in 1853 committed itself to send
industrial equipment outside the,
Communist world.
India and Argentina were chosen
for the experiment. Agreements
with the two countries cali for
Soviet exports Of machine tools,
ball bearings, Oh drilling equip
ment, mining equipment, sxcava-
tors, bulldo7efs. electric power
equipment, testing and measuring
instruments and farm machinery.
The Argentine agreement was re-