851.6131/4–2647: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Embassy in France
u.s. urgent
1530. The French claim that the U.S. Govt promised shipment of 553,000 tons of grain to France in the period February–June 1947 [Page 704] arises from a misunderstanding on the part of the French dating from the time of the visit of Minister Prigent to Washington in February. The misconception was threefold, namely, (a) combining of recognized import requirements of Metropolitan France and French North Africa and applying the resultant total to Metropolitan France alone, (b) failure to understand that the IEFC recommended figure for shipments to France or any other country applies to total shipments from all sources and does not include specific recommendations concerning the source of such shipments, and (c) ignoring of the fact that the United States as a supplying country member of that Council has during the present half-year announced its export programs month by month, not singling out any countries for special consideration by allocation of grain covering longer periods.
The figure 553,000 was combined by Monsieur Prigent himself in a letter of February 18 to the Secretary of Agriculture as follows:
| Seed wheat to be shipped from the U.S. in February | 17,000 tons |
| March program from the United States | 68,000 tons |
| Balance to be shipped April, May and June | 277,000 tons |
| Total for Metropolitan France | 362,000 tons |
| Total to be shipped to French North Africa | 191,000 tons |
| Total to France and French North Africa | 553,000 tons |
There is therefore no basis whatever for the French to talk of a promised total of 553,000 for France itself when they themselves stated that the figure applying to France in this connection was 362,000 which was in harmony with IEFC figures for shipment to France from all sources.
In connection with the Minister’s visit the IEFC made an upward revision of the French requirement from 450,000 for the crop-year July 1946–June 1947 to 877,000 which took into account the wheat frost-kill in France and made allowances for 100,000 tons imported for feed use.
In calculating balance still due to France from February forward, IEFC found that known shipments from all sources plus the U.S. March and April programs totalled 600,000 tons (about 500,000 of which had moved during last half of 1946) leaving balance of 277,000 tons to move from all sources. This is balance referred to in Mr. Prigent’s letter to Secretary of Agriculture as being expected by French to move to France from United States in addition to already announced February and March programs to make a total of 362,000.
In letter of reply addressed to French Ambassador on March 4, Secretary of Agriculture indicated that February and March programs [Page 705] and also an April program of 123,000 tons to France and French North Africa could be regarded as specific commitments from United States, but that no commitments were yet possible regarding quantities to be programmed from United States in months of May and June, although United States would do its best to furnish as much of balance as possible. Likewise letter made clear that no promise could be made with regard to North Africa.
In actuality the United States with programs as announced through June and including recent emergency allocations of 33,000 and 36,000 tons respectively expects to make available 359,000 tons to Metropolitan France as compared to the 362,000 referred to by Monsieur Prigent in his letter.
This is broken down as follows:
| February | 17,000 |
| Part of March program moved to France | 35,000 |
| Part of April program being moved to France | 56,000 |
| May program | 100,000 |
| June program | 82,000 |
| Emergency programs | 69,000 |
| 359,000 |
Meantime shipments to France from Argentina have brought total known shipments plus U.S. programs to France thru June to a total for the crop year of 960,000 tons, thus actually exceeding the IEFC recommended total of 877,000 tons for France from all sources by 83,000 tons.
As for French North Africa, shipments to this area from United States in March and April will total 92,000 tons. 38,000 were shipped to French North Africa from other sources earlier in the year, making total shipment of 130,000 tons.
The requirement now recognized for French North Africa in IEFC is 207,000 tons. The balance not yet covered is therefore 777,000 [77,000?]. However, this shortfall is more than made up by the excess shipped from all sources to France, namely 87,000 [83,000?] tons. Thus known shipments and U.S. programs through June to France and French North Africa taken together more than meet the total for these areas recommended by IEFC without taking into account additional shipments which will continue to be made from Argentina.
Sent Paris as 1530 rptd Geneva for Clayton as 223.