740.00119 EW/7-1645: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Director of the Office of Financial and Development Policy
[Washington,] July 16, 1945
Secret
us urgent
33. (For Collado.)
In telegram 2250 of June 24, Pauley suggested that certain (unspecified) commodities received by Soviet Union on reparation account from satellite countries might be made available to American occupation forces through reverse-lend-lease arrangements. Dept drafted reply to effect that US waived none of its claim to reparations from satellites (though expecting none), that prospects of obtaining commodities from Soviet Union for US forces were so small as to preclude an approach to Soviet Union, and that US interest in exportable surpluses of the satellite countries centered on deliveries to UNRRA beneficiaries for relief of UNRRA and in turn US. This draft was taken by the Secretary.
When reply was drafted, Dept was thinking in terms of agricultural products, including food. It is apparent from later telegrams that Pauley is deeply interested in obtaining oil from Rumania, Hungary and Austria and has corresponded with PAW and SHAEF on this subject. His latest telegram to PAW asks for information on tanker requirements for Anglo-American oil for western and Mediterranean oil requirements from Anglo-American sources, and tanker savings possible if Austrian, Hungarian and Rumanian sources could be used.
Suggest you consider asking the Secretary to enlarge the draft reply to 2250 of June 24 to indicate the interest of the US in obtaining oil from this area, and in paying dollars for such oil (if necessary) to Rumania and Hungary rather than USSR with understanding that these dollars be used primarily to satisfy US claims on these countries.
You may recall that Dept has already asked Embassy in Moscow for information on prospects of obtaining oil from Russian sources, or from Rumanian and Hungarian fields dominated by the Soviet Union. A long reply was received from Harriman to the effect that the Soviet Union position in oil continued to show a deficit. This exchange took place before Pauley’s arrival in Moscow.
[GREW]