Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-12-11
Russia ToIks q Good Game
Of I rode and Aid, but
By HERBERT BRATTER

The Russians, one hears. are
offering their industrial goods and
technical know-how far and wide
among the underdeveloped coun-
tries of Asia, Africa and elsewhere.
One day it is dam in Egypt, an
other day a river development prof.
ect in Lebanon. India is offered
steel mill; Afghanistan paved high
ways. It makes wonderful propa-
ganda headlines.
In Burma, Communist Party
chieftain KhruShchev brought the
word personally: you help us and
We will help you . You lack en-
gineers and technicians. But if you
need anything, just tell us and we
will help you." he said. Great stuff!
And according to Izvestia, Many
Of the poorly developed-in an in
dustrial senSe-countrieS of Asia
and Latin America are deriving
great benefits from economic CO.
operation with the socialist camp"
Last summer a Moscow broadcast
claimed: THE Soviet Union also ex-
ports machinery to Latin America
and the Near and Middle East coun-
tries to help them create national
industries Of their own. incidentally,
the USSR willingly supplies the
underdeveloped countries with the
equipment and machinery that the
Western countries refuse them"
The broadcast cited Argentina as a
case in point.
But 1t doesn't really work that
way.
Argentine Cose
For instance in August, 1853, in
the usual spirit of enthusiasm, a
Russian-Argentine trade agreement
was announced, involving an ex-
change Of $75 million worth of
Argentine agricultural products for
an equal amount Of such Russian
products as coal, crude oil, petro-
leum products. iron and steel, drugs,
etc. In addition. Argentina was to
buy on q Acknowledgements basis
$50 million worth Of capital goods.
including agricultural equipment,
transportation equipment and ma
chinery for oil production. The
agreement, made for one year, was
renewable.
Some trade certainly resulted
from the agreement, but the part
relating to machinery seems to be
unavoidable because Of lack of de-
mand on the part Of Argentine pri-
vate industries and farmers. In
1858. following the agreement, and
in 1854. beyond which we have no
data, Russia bought $62 million
worth Of Argentine products. but
Argentina took only some $13.5 mil
lion Of Russian goods: Oil. rails and
other steel semimanufactures.
In the first two years only about
30 Russian tractors are known to
have been sold In Argentina. Russia
has been pressing Argentina. which
has sent three missions to Moscow
TO look over the factories, but Rus
sia's capacity to deliver machinery
has never been put to the test.
Uruguay. Too
The Russian Uruguayan trade
agreement Of July. 1854. called for
$20-million movement of goods in
each direction over IL months:
Newsprint. coal, chemicals, etc.. for
meat, hides. wool and the like. The
trade has been lopsided. From
January. 1854. through June. 1855,
Russia bought 1855 million worth,
but Uruguay took from Russia only
$27.650 worth Of medicines and
films. which Is ratio Of 1000 to !.
The Russian radio keeps needing
Uruguay on this.
A survey by the New York Times
In September showed performance
trailing far behind promise in So
viet-bloc trade commitments to
Latin America. The survey included
Argentina. Brazil. Uruguay. Mexico
and other countries. The trade
moved mostly eastward, and I'M
wanted credit balances in favor of
the new world were piling up. The
newspaper reported that in 1854
only 81 per cent of promised deliv-
cries Of Soviet goods had been made
to Argentina; AZ per cent to Brazil
Machinery delivered proved not only
below quality but from to Is years
out of date.
At the end OF 1854 the Soviet
bloc owed Argentina nearly SAB mil
lion, OF which the USSR alone owed
$136 million.
DeoIs With lndio
Available data on Russian Indian
trade suggest that 1t Is much easier
for an underdeveloped country to
sell to Russia than to buy from It,
In 1854 Q year of trade-agreement
commerce showed 1925 millions of
Indian products taken by Russia
but only $23 millions Of goods going
to India.
In September 1854 Moscow offered
India cheap tractors. On an expert
mental basis India accepted four.
with technicians. Later a single
commercial order for tractors was
placed. The price tag is about half
that Of American and British ma
chimes.
Steel plant negotiations with In
dia were announced in February,
involving a million-ton plant to
be built by 1860. Even though In