740.0011 European War 1939/7921½
Memorandum by the Acting Chief of the Division of European Affairs (Atherton) to the Secretary of State
[Washington,] January 31, 1941.
Mr. Hull: An attempt has been made in the attached memorandum12 to present a summary of information available to the Department which might assist in determining the extent to which Soviet purchases in the United States and in other countries in the Western Hemisphere may be facilitating Soviet economic aid to Germany. It would appear from an examination of the material presented that:
- (1)
- There is no available evidence that any appreciable quantity of merchandise recently purchased by Soviet agencies in the United States has been re-exported to Germany.
- (2)
- It is clear that the Soviet Government is purchasing in the United States in relatively modest quantities certain materials such as cotton and wheat at the same time that it is delivering Soviet produced materials of a similar type to Germany.
- (3)
- The Soviet Government is purchasing in the United States certain commodities such as gasoline and leather at the same time that it is exporting to Germany raw materials such as petroleum and hides which are used in the manufacture of such commodities.
- (4)
- The Soviet Government since the outbreak of the war has appreciably increased its purchases in the United States of copper and brass. No evidence is available that these metals have been re-shipped to Germany, and it is possible that the increase results from the fact that the Soviet Government has not been able to buy copper and brass in the usual markets and that, in view of its armament program, its own need for these materials has increased.
- (5)
- The purchase by the Soviet Government of such bulky materials as gasoline and wheat for consumption in the Far East reduces the demands on Soviet railway equipment and permits this equipment to be deviated to other uses and indirectly, perhaps, assists the Soviet Government in carrying out its promises to deliver certain materials to Germany.
- (6)
- The Soviet Government has recently been purchasing in the United States certain consumers goods such as lard, wool, cotton, leather, etc., which it has hitherto not imported or at least has not been buying in the Western Hemisphere. There is a possibility that the change of Soviet foreign trade policy manifested in the buying of these consumers goods may have been prompted by Soviet desires to replace similar commodities which it is delivering to Germany.
- (7)
- There have been recent increased purchases in this country of certain industrial equipment which is apparently needed by the Soviet Government in order to strengthen those branches of economy straining to effect promised deliveries to Germany. Increases, for instance, are noted in Soviet purchases of oil drilling and railway transportation equipment.
- (8)
- No information is obtainable which would tend to give credence to reports that the Soviet Government is planning in the near future to purchase large quantities of raw materials in the American Republics. There is evidence, however, of certain recent increases in Soviet imports from South America, particularly imports of wool and hides.
- (9)
- In view of limited railway facilities, there is little likelihood that any great quantity of bulky goods will pass through the Soviet Far East en route to Germany. Certain merchandise, purchased for the most part by German and Japanese agents in South America, apparently is being delivered to Germany over the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Ray Atherton
- Not printed.↩