FINANCING US EXPORTS TO THE USSR

Created: 1/1/1974

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

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Financing US Exports to the USSR

Prior to the2 summit meeting, US exports to the USSR generally involved cash payments with some short-term credits. An examination of the short-term position of US banksis the USSR provides some insights. Soviet claims on US banks are generally short-term deposits, the size and fluctuation of which indicate that they existto satisfy short-termash) payments for Soviet imports from the United States. Claims of US banks on the USSR are primarily loans and, because of US bankers' general wariness of the Johnson Act, probably are tied to US exports. Until the time of Secretary of Commerce Stans' visit to Moscow in these short-term credits, rolled overonthly basis, never amounted to more than S4 million, with the sudden surge in US exports to the USSR2ha USSR apparentlyoughly proportionate increase in the use of short-term facilities that were made increasingly available by US banks. In the last two years the USSR wasoverillion each month on average. Claims against the USSR by non-banking institutions brought US short-term facilities made availalbe to the USSR byo as much:9 million.

According to information derived from US sources, the first instance of US credits of more than one year's duration were the

utilization ofear Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) credits in support of US grain exports In that year the USSR used0 million in CCC credits to finance grain imports from the United States that9 million. The balance of the grain deliveries, as well as other USto the USSR, were either paid for in cash or financed by short-tern credits.

The last half2 witnessed the availability for the first time of long-term US credits to the USSR. Inonsortium of US banksear credits to finance the export of International Harvestor crawler tractors and equipment valuedillion. Innother consortium was organized thatear credits to finance the export of caterpillar tractors valuedillion. Days later, the us Eximbank opened its window to Moscow and made the first of several preliminary commitments to help finance US exports to the USSR. Apparently, however, no deliveries involving long-term finance occuredhen US banks reported long-term claims9 million against the USSR by the end of the year. Together with known Eximbank disbursements and long-term loans by non-bankingtotal long-term financing from US sources to the USSR amounted to8 million and covered anf US machinery and equipment exports to the USSR (see tabulation below).

MOT

Type of Financing

Eximbank creditsillion and matching private cred-

its

Pumps for oil wells and oil fields valuedillion and metal cutting

machine tools for the Kama

Truck plant valuedillion

of Americaloan forof which wasdrawn down

Caterpillar track-laying tractors valuedillion

private credits3 million

which may include long-term credits to cover

International Harvestor deal.

Other machinery anddeliveries valued3 million.

0 million in CCC credits were appliedthe financing7 million in us grain oxports to the Soviet Union Cash payments and short-term credits covered the remaining exports of grain, machinery andand other US exports to tho USSR3 (see chart).

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Original document.

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