861.24/8–3044: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman)19
Reurtel 3206, August 29, noon.20 The following paragraph is proposed for food items if such items are included in the proposed agreement supplementary to the mutual aid agreement:
“Within such periods as may be authorized by law, the Government of the United States undertakes to transfer to the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics agrees to accept, those supplies included in the categories set forth in Schedule III annexed to this Agreement, in the quantities which, at the time of the determination by the President that the military resistance of the common enemy has been overcome, shall be allocated by the appropriate agency of the United States Government from United States supplies for the purpose of providing war aid to the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the respective periods set forth in Schedule III. It is understood that the quantities of supplies to be transferred by the United States under the provisions of this Article may be reduced if the President of the United States shall determine that such supplies are more urgently needed for other purposes.”
It is contemplated that the periods referred to would be agreed upon for each of the various food categories in the light of Soviet needs and United States supply.
Our proposal regarding the price at which food items would be transferred under the agreement to the Soviet Union is that the price would be the cost of the supplies to the United States or the price at which the United States sells similar food supplies to other buyers, whichever is lower.
The above wording has not yet been submitted to Stepanov or discussed with him. Although the subject of prices of industrial supplies is still under discussion, we have not gone into the prices of food items. We shall submit the above wording to Stepanov at our next meeting, and shall mention the price formula, as our proposal with respect to food items in the event that Moscow wishes to include food in the agreement.
We have not finally determined whether the above wording should constitute the basis for a separate article in the agreement, with a special Schedule III for food categories, or whether the substance of the wording should be incorporated in Article II, with appropriate revisions in the agreement and with the addition of food categories to Schedule I.