861.24/11–644
The Assistant People’s Commissar for Foreign Trade of the Soviet Union (Stepanov) to the Assistant Secretary of State (Acheson)44
My Dear Mr. Acheson: In the letter of 14 September, 194445 which I received from Mr. E. D. Durbrow it is stated that Appendix No. 1 “as agreed upon” is enclosed together with the draft agreement. I consider it necessary to point out that the reference to an agreement on Appendix No. 1 is evidently a misunderstanding, as the schedule under Appendix No. 1 was not discussed by us in Washington.
This schedule was likewise not agreed upon in Moscow. Brig. General S. P. Spalding, during one of his discussions with Mr. A. D. Krutikov, among many other problems touched the question of the schedule under Appendix No. 1. Mr. Krutikov, preliminarily giving his personal opinion, replied that in view of the necessity to expedite [Page 1152] the completion of the negotiations, taking place in Washington, he believed that no serious modifications would be made to the U.S. draft schedule.
However, after detailed examination, it was found that Appendix No. 1 included not only Industrial Equipment, which was discussed with Mr. W. A. Harriman but also many other materials and therefore Mr. Krutikov advised General Spalding of the necessity of making serious amendments to the above mentioned schedule.
As to the contents of the draft agreement and the appendices thereto, sent to me, I have to point out that the draft contains several provisions unacceptable to the Soviet Union, for instance the limited date of placing orders, the amount of discount when determining the prices, as well as the amount of percentage rate, regarding which no agreement was reached during the negotiations between us.
Sincerely yours,