Office of the Historian

57. Telegram From the Embassy in Poland to the Department of State0

Warsaw, April 17, 1962, 5 p.m.

1632. Re Deptel 1368.1 I am gratified with Department’s insistence on Polish cash purchases cotton and rice as condition Title I sales those commodities under amendment December 15 agreement. Nonetheless, Department’s proposal remains clearly very attractive financial proposition [Page 118] for Poles which they should not be permitted to realize without at least some concrete concessions to our reasonable requirements.

Therefore and as a minimum I must reiterate and strongly urge that a communique fully describing and explaining the background of total US economic aid to Poland since 1957, be negotiated and accepted for wide distribution by the Polish side as an integral part of the proposed amendment (Embdes 352).2 I consider this to be a matter of right and prudence for the reasons cited in A–5193 and not a new or unreasonable condition. (Perhaps as Drozniak suggested, publicity will pose no problem, however when we discussed it with him in Warsaw he dismissed our complaint as unjustified and no consequence.)

I believe we must show the Poles now that we really mean business on publicity. To do so will provide an immediate practical test of Polish intentions, possibly settle the problem, and facilitate moving on to other matters in the forthcoming negotiations. To fail to do so now only postpones the matter unnecessarily and prejudices its later presentation in Warsaw. Parenthetically, Gomulka’s April 13 statement (Embtel 1610)4 about economic competition with capitalism and textile raw material imports for which Poland “must pay” is further evidence of the need for and significance of adequate publicity for US aid.

I am also gratified that Department’s postponement of consideration of Polish grain requests will give us an opportunity to begin to balance accounts more evenly. In this connection I look forward to receiving the instruction pouched April 16. I trust any further negotiations will enable us to obtain some of the advantages mentioned in previous Embassy communications.5

Cabot
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.4841/4–1762. Confidential; Priority.↩
  2. Document 56.↩
  3. Despatch 352, March 16, discussed Polish publicity for P.L. 480 agreements. (Department of State, Central Files, 611.484/3–1662)↩
  4. Airgram A–159, March 15, discussed ways to utilize P.L. 480 aid to increase U.S. influence in Poland. (Ibid., 611.48/3–1562)↩
  5. Telegram 1610, April 16, reported on Gomulka’s speech on export policy. (Ibid., 411.4841/4–1662)↩
  6. In telegram 1392 to Warsaw, April 10, the Department of State reiterated its disinterest in a joint U.S.-Polish statement and the reasons for this position and informed the Embassy that it believed that the two sides were on the verge of an agreement on a cotton and rice amendment that it hoped to sign on April 19. (Ibid., 611.4841/4–1762) For text of the agreement as signed on that date, see TIAS 4998.↩