860D.00/4–2845: Telegram
The United States Representative in Finland ( Hamilton ) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 6—1:10 a.m.]
192. 1. In view of his early departure for Stockholm, Higgs44 was asked to lunch April 27 with Kekkonen,45 Hillila,46 Tuomioja,47 and Gartz. Hulley48 also was there. Hulley and Higgs were much impressed with the sober seriousness with which these Ministers viewed the supply situation for Finland in coming months and with the realism with which they were approaching the problem neither expecting nor desiring easy help from the outside.
2. Gartz a hardheaded business man with wide experience and liberal views, had just returned from negotiations in Stockholm with the Swedish Government for additional supplies and leaves April 28 with Svento for similar negotiations in Moscow. The Stockholm negotiations reached no definite conclusions, although he did obtain at least some seed potatoes. (See Stockholm’s 1554, April 26 to Department).49 In brief he found the Swedes unwilling to extend further help to Finland on a blank check basis and firm in their insistence that they must have some other sort of payment for additional exports to Finland than further Finnish marks or blocked sterling. He did not speak in optimistic terms regarding the Moscow [Page 647] negotiations, presumably expecting the Russians to drive an extremely hard bargain for anything supplied by them in compensation for imports from Finland.
3. The meager success attained to date in his attempts to obtain supplies from other sources is apparently leading Gartz more and more to concentrate upon the possibilities of striking any kind of a bargain with us but this sense of frustration in this connection is very apparent. The Finns have no one in Washington to discuss trade with us even on a non-credit basis and the economic questions they have put to this mission as reported to the Department in a number of our telegrams have perforce remained unanswered.
4. Finland’s present concern according to Gartz is for supplies during the latter part of the current year and 46 as present Swedish commitments will not extend into that period and as he has not succeeded in getting further commitments from the Swedes. He does not see how Finland can possibly meet its reparations obligations when presently scheduled Swedish deliveries cease.
Replying to our inquiry he said that the Finns had not yet drawn up a list of the products which they particularly desire to obtain from the USA (in this connection see Department’s airmail instruction of March 1250 enclosing letter from Department of Commerce dated March 6) but that these goods generally related directly to Finland’s production for reparation payments. Before Hulley and Higgs had an opportunity to say anything on the subject Gartz stated that he was fully acquainted with our views on credits to countries under reparations obligations and that his present approach did not envisage such credits. He emphasized that what he wanted was to sit down with some authorized and competent American officials and discuss the possibilities of reaching an agreement on a schedule of exports from Finland to the USA (largely product of the woodworking industry) in return for which Finland would receive products in 1946 such as ship plates (about 15,000 tons), transportation equipment and machine tools for use in producing in Finland articles for export to the USSR as reparations. This would be essentially an exchange of goods such as the Finns and the Russians have been discussing. Could this be arranged and how?
He pointed out that this question had been raised with me by Foreign Minister Enckell twice before (see my 71 March 2, 4 p.m. repeated to Stockholm as my 23 and to Moscow as my 22 and my 157 April 12, 9 a.m. not repeated elsewhere).51 He said that after his return from Moscow about 2 weeks hence and a trip immediately [Page 648] thereafter to Stockholm he intended to raise this question with me again.
I should appreciate instructions whether there would not seem to be sufficient interest and advantage for the United States, both economic and political, to explore at least the possibility of working out some sort of mutually advantageous import export arrangement between Finland and the USA. While I realize that various complications would attend the visit of a Finnish representative to the United States to discuss such matters I believe such a visit would be the most practicable way to explore possibilities.
Repeated to Stockholm as my 63 and to Moscow as my 57.
- L. Randolph Higgs was relieved of his assignment as Secretary of Mission In Finland on May 1, 1945.↩
- Urho K. Kekkonen, Minister of Justice.↩
- Kaarlo H. Hillilā, Minister of Supply.↩
- Sakari B. Tuomioja, Governor of the Bank of Finland.↩
- Benjamin M. Hulley, Secretary of Mission in Finland.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Telegram 157 not printed, but see telegram 70, May 2, 6 p.m., to Helsinki, infra.↩