82. Telegram From the Embassy in Romania to the Department of State1

7469.

SUBJECT

  • Assistant Secretary Eagleburger’s October 18 Meeting With Romanian Foreign Minister Andrei—Tete-a-Tete.

REF

  • 276444.2
[Page 250]
1.
(S—Entire text)
2.
Tete-a-Tete: Andrei and Eagleburger then withdrew to Andrei’s office for a private conversation. Mircea Raceanu, the Ministry’s North American Affairs Chief, served as interpreter. Eagleburger orally made the presentation called for in reftel in response to Andrei’s demarche while in the United States regarding one billion dollars in a balance of payments support loan and 200 million dollars in Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) loan guarantees. He also left Andrei a piece of paper (transmitted herewith):

Quote: The United States wishes to be helpful to Romania’s efforts to resolve its financial problems.

There are no US programs which would provide Romania with a loan for balance of payments assistance. Were there a program of this kind, present budgetary constraints would not permit the granting of credit in the amount of one billion dollars.

We are prepared to view sympathetically your request for two hundred million dollars in Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) financing for the purchase of US agricultural products. We will consider CCC guarantees of sixty-five million dollars in financing in fiscal year 1982 to be repaid over a three-year period.

We will also consider sympathetically future Romanian requests for up to sixty-five million dollars (also on a three-year repayment schedule) in each of the next two fiscal years, provided that the Romanian financial situation shows signs of improvement.

For this year’s request, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires a formal written request for the aforementioned credit guarantees. Your request should specify the commodities and the dollar amounts desired for each commodity and include information on Romania’s total volume of expected imports and exports for all grains and other foodstuffs.

We believe that sixty-five million dollars this year is the maximum amount which our commercial banks are willing to support under a credit guarantee program without repayment of interest. We also believe that sixty-five million dollars is an appropriate amount from the point of view of avoiding the creation of additional pressures on Romanian debt service capacity.

It is unfortunate that our banks’ perception of Romania is that is has not been as open and cooperative a partner as it might have been.

Our contacts with US commercial banks suggest that a lack of authoritative information on the Romanian financial situation has contributed to the pressures Romania is experiencing. In our view, it would be useful for Romanian representatives to cooperate more closely with commercial banking partners in the US on the basis of open and candid [Page 251] exchange of information on Romania’s current financial situation. Unquote.

3.
Eagleburger emphasized that Romania must do a better job in explaining itself to, and working with American commercial banks if it expects to continue a productive relationship with them. Andrei made no substantive reply to this presentation, but said he would discuss the matter that evening with President Ceausescu.
Funderburk
  1. Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Country File, Europe and Soviet Union, Romania (9/4/1981–11/17/1981). Secret; Immediate; Nodis.
  2. Telegram 276444 to Bucharest, October 17, provided the talking points for the United States response to Romania’s request for loans. (Department of State, Central Foreign Policy File, D810490–0882)