Office of the Historian

292. Information Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs (McCormack) to the Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs (Wallis)1

Washington, March 11, 1983

SUBJECT

  • Commodity Agreements

The attached memorandum, “The United States and International Commodity Agreements”,2 responds to your memorandum of January 18, 1983, on the above subject.3

As you know, I am basically opposed to our entering into any new commodity agreements, particularly those with price-affecting provisions. I look forward to an interagency review of the commodity agreements with which we are associated to determine whether we should terminate our participation in them as early as is practical.

The report which the EB staff has prepared reflects a similar position. It cautions against tightly closing the door on all possibilities of cooperation in the commodities area, however, since our national interests may on occasion benefit from participation in some arrangements. That fact will have to be clearly demonstrated in any particular instance to receive my concurrence. In this connection we are presently considering the recommendations we will make regarding participation in negotiations for an “other measures” agreement (one without any price stabilization provisions) on tropical timber and whether to sign a similar arrangement that has been negotiated for jute.

  1. Source: Department of State, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Office of International Commodities Subject Files for 1983, E/C Commodity Policy General 1983, Lot 86D76: E/C Commodity Policy General 1983. Confidential. Drafted on February 24 by Joseph O’Mahony (EB/ORF/ICD), Michael Shelton (EB/ORF/ICD), Robert Pastorino (EB/ORF/ICD/ISM), Gilbert Donahue (EB/ORF/ICD/ISM), Stephen Thompson (EB/ORF/ICD/ISM), John Barcas (EB/ORF/ICD/TRP), Mark Lore (EB/ORF/ICD/TRP), and Stephen Muller (EB/ORF/ICD/TRP); cleared in EB/ORF, EB, and S/P.↩
  2. Attached but not printed.↩
  3. See footnote 2, Document 291.↩