623.3531/10–247: Airgram
The Ambassador in Argentina (Bruce) to the Secretary of State
A–600. ReDeptel 903, September 25, 6 p.m.75 Competent Peruvian officials made the following comment on the current negotiations in Buenos Aires of a Peruvian-Argentine commercial treaty:
A treaty will be signed for reasons of political expediency, but the document probably will not contribute a great deal toward strengthening trade relations. Mr. Miranda76 inflexibly insists on pesos 60 per 100 kilos of wheat but will not accede to Peru’s counter-argument that prices of Peruvian products for Argentina should be increased proportionately. However, even if Mr. Miranda should accede, Peru would not wish to adopt the Argentine system of taking a part of the profit which rightfully belongs to producers.
Mr. Miranda has made various offers of financial assistance. One was a credit of 50 million pesos for buying wheat at the 60-peso level. Other large credits were suggested for developing Peruvian coal mines and oil production, on condition that large amounts of these products be supplied to Argentina at world market quotations. The exact sums were not definitely stated but from the tenor of Mr. Miranda’s conversations, either one could amount to 100 to 200 million pesos, or even more.
Peruvian policy at present is opposed to incurring further large-scale indebtedness, and Mr. Miranda’s proposals probably will receive consideration only if necessary to obtain wheat. Peru will evidently have to take more of Mr. Miranda’s 60-peso wheat, but only so long as it remains impossible to obtain this cereal at lower quotations in other markets.77
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- Not printed.↩
- Miguel Miranda, President of the Argentine Economic Council.↩
- In telegram 786, October 31, 1947, 6 p.m., not printed. Ambassador Cooper warned that Peru might be forced into an undesirable commercial agreement with Argentina if wheat or flour shipments were not obtained from the United States or Canada (823.6584/10–3147).↩