Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Eastern Europe, The Soviet Union, Volume VI

861.51/2–2146

The Secretary of State to the Chargé of the Soviet Union (Orekhov)

Washington, February 21, 1946.

Sir: Reference is made to the memorandum of August 28, 1945⁴ transmitted to this Government by Lieutenant-General Rudenko, Chairman of the Government Purchasing Mission of the Soviet Union in the United States of America, requesting that a credit of one billion dollars be made to the Government of the U.S.S.R. by the Export-Import Bank of Washington.

This Government considers the requested credit one among a number of outstanding economic questions the settlement of which is necessary to provide a sound basis for the mutually-beneficial development of economic relations between the United States and the U.S.S.R.

Accordingly, this Government proposes that negotiations be initiated forthwith between the Government of the United States and the Government of the U.S.S.R. directed to a general settlement of these issues, including the question of the requested credit. It is proposed, in particular, that negotiations should cover, in addition to the terms of the credit in question, such of the following outstanding economic issues as may not already have been settled separately:

(1) Claims of American nationals against the Government of the U.S.S.R., including claims arising from actions of the U.S.S.R. in occupied and liberated areas.

(2) Determination of concerted policies to be followed by the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. together with the U.K., under the terms of the agreement reached at the Crimea Conference, in assisting the peoples liberated from the domination of Nazi Germany and the peoples of the former Axis satellite states of Europe to solve by democratic means their pressing economic problems.⁵

(3) Arrangements to guarantee that navigation on rivers of international concern should be free and open on terms of entire equality to nationals, vessels of commerce, and goods of all members of the United Nations.

(4) Preliminary discussions of a comprehensive treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. and agreement to enter into negotiations in the near future for the conclusion of such a treaty.

(5) Arrangements to assure adequate protection of the interests of inventors and of writers and other holders of copyrights.

(6) Methods for giving effect to the terms of Article VII of the Soviet Master Lend-Lease Agreement of June 11, 1942, such as are suggested in this Government’s “Proposals for Expansion of World Trade and Employment,”⁶ which were transmitted to the Government of the U.S.S.R. on December 21, 1945.

(7) General settlement of lend-lease obligations in accordance with the provisions of the Soviet Master Lend-Lease Agreement, concluded on June 11, 1942 between the Governments of the United States and the U.S.S.R., on the basis of an inventory of lend-lease supplies in the possession of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or subject to its control at the end of hostilities, as indicated in the note on this subject addressed by this Government to the Government of the U.S.S.R. on February 18, 1946.

(8) Civil aviation matters of mutual interest to the two countries.

(9) Discussion of other economic questions, the settlement of which in the opinion of either government, would be conducive to the attainment of the general aims of the negotiations as herein proposed.

It is the hope of this Government that the Government of the U.S.S.R. will avail itself of the invitation to send observers to the first meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to be held at Wilmington Island, near Savannah, Georgia, on March 8, 1946, where the United States intends to suggest the adoption of a resolution by the Board of Governors of each institution permitting the admission to membership, during a limited period of time, on the same terms as those enjoyed by members which signed before December 31, 1945, of those countries which participated in the Bretton Woods Conference, but failed to sign before December 31, 1946.

The Government of the United States feels that negotiations should be initiated in Washington as soon as possible, and hopes to receive from the Government of the U.S.S.R. an early reply to the proposals as contained in this note.

Accept [etc.]

James F. Byrnes

4. Foreign Relations, 1945, vol. v, p. 1034.
5. For text of the Declaration on Liberated Europe, see Foreign Relations, The Conferences at Malta and Yalta, 1945, p. 971.
6. Department of State publication No. 2411 (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1945).