INTELLIGENCE AGENCY'S REQUEST POSE PROBLEMS FOR SOME GLOBAL FIRMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000100620002-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 24, 1999
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: February 24, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

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an i~Zea - Approve j.9i,1 lea
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::~ e genes Agency's
cc nests Pose Problems
Fo' some Global Firms
FEB 2 4 1SS7
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harles. Ali:+rn:+, rha.irma.n, says: "No com? run is a so goo or n , , as a whole
"Being effective world.wida is, In a sense, h
tent, That's all I have to say. I'll talk to' the'na.tlonal interest," he asserts.
on about anything but that." A surprising number of U.S. companies do
The presidcnt of a Southwe. t?based. cont.. own up, at least privately, to cooperating wilt
any that drills oil wells abroad at first', the CIA to the extent of providing inforrna?
greed to talk about; the CIA on an agony, i tion,
sous basis, then changed his mind midway Some firths say tiie agency has approache
hrough the interview and ordered the re employes before they departed on trips over
orter to tear up his notes; he watched intent.
d
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seas an
asked them to p
ck up specific bit.
1'~uLSe.L Jeep Shows Its Sales y to make sure the reporter. complied. "I 'of information, which the ,r proceeded to do
ope you realize," he said, "how delicate R The companies suggest Uie CIA must hay
,V o1'les; Traveler to Soviet natter this is." i learned of the impending trips from pass, or
I r-' the P.ngri In the Dark I applications or other sources. American ~Io
(
. -ebuf fs Two Bids for Help Even whr.n businessmen are more talka.' tors Corp. provides tinn ? Government with
lve on the subject., the truth may be elusive. travel achedules.of its foreign sales officials,
It some firms the. top officer may be un? William S. Pickett. a. vice president, Indicates.
G , 3osses ?'lay Not, Be Told ware a subordinate has ever dealt with the Despite occasional advitnce planning with
out on an Individual basis." In other instances. agents following, a. grip.
usineasmen may feel obligated to mislead The CIA appears to deal with some husi
uestioners. nessmen on a continuing basis. "I have regu
One of these situations may well apply in lar contact with the CIA," saytt William Boy
case of a major U.S, corporation with Jr., an international vice president of Pitts
he
lie case operations In Asia. At a the com? burgh National Bank. "They call up and as
any's Midwest headquarters, the president if we have anything in our files of a statistics
ays he -would bar any cooperation by em- ,nature on industries abroad, and we end u
by giving them'a lot of printed material." H
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,. adds, howevdr, that it is always material tha
on overseas staffs of -companies as cover for vhether your employes are - working for you 'could be picked up easily in the foreign coup
its ernpioycs. More frequently, it has turned r for someone else," he declares firmly. But try and doesn't represent data about cliea
to ou.-inoss as a source-of information, in- i nether source familiar with the firm's direr
CPYRGHT aced in Geneva, Switzerland, puts it,, "This seas travelers' contact wish the agency gen
one wen o Central Intelligence Agency
.,, s to private organizations extends to bust-
t+-rviewing business travelers and other bust-
n. asnnen involved in foreign, operations to
gat.hor clues to political and economic develop.
meats abro;.;.. .
At least within the business world, compa.
Hies' relations with the CIA usually don't ap?
pear. to pack the emotional content they do
in the case of some of the other private or-
;anizations that have cooperated with the
ea.s staff insists Just as firmly that for years
'n one of its "salesmen". In,Japan was actually Casual Arrangements
CIA opgrative. More often, businessmen's dealings tuft
The president of a West Coast manufacturer the CIA are on a casual, irregular or eve
evolved with the CIA from time to time sug- we- easb sis.. ersreiInt Tina ion gathmpan e
eats that it would . be wise for a company would prefer to keep thing,? that way, fearim
that wanted to assist the agency to issue a
well-publicized statement that "International more fixed arrangements are likely to land th
Midget will not allow its employes to cooper- ,company in hot water abroad sometime.
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;ency. Mot executives take a matter-of-fact Fite in any manner with the CIA." Then, he
view of the situation. says, the company would be free to cooperate company says that a few times a CIA agen
{ has approached an employe and said: Yo
:~aisor Jeep Corp.,' aL subsidie.ry of Kaiser as much as it pleased. ` ,travel a lot-how about supplying us wit
the CIA last year for a report on a promo-
iional jaunt by 25 salesmen through several
Fast European countries, including Poland,
i Czechosiovakla and Rumania, "We thought we
i should cooperate with them," comments a,
i'aiser official. "They were asking legitimate
n
uestions concerning business information."
Damaging Foreign Operations
On the other hand, some businessmen say
tiny are. uneasy about"eveh seemingly casual
relations with the CIA. Their concern is based
not so much on ethical grounds as on'fears
that the slightest hint of involvement with
U.S. intelligence could damage their foreign
operations. ,
J. L. Camp, vice president In charge of
the overseas division of International Har-
vaster Co., says he spends three-quarters of
n:,, time abroad but has never been ap-
eproached by the CIA-and hopes he never is.
"With out terrific Investment overseas, if any.
,y s::.:pected us of cloak-and-dagger work, it
i wreck us," says Mr. Camp.;
Many, executives flatly refuse to discuss
xssri~le relations between business and Gov-
crnment intelligenco gatherers. "This is a no-
commeant area," says an official of General
Tire k Rubber Co. Asked it Raytheon Co.
:;oases-in particular, to big 'companies that
operate around the globe.
Unlike the recently disclosed CIA ties to
siudent ;;soups, foundations and labor unions,
a agency's relations with firms apparently
c:rnti't involve financial subsidies. Instead, the
C1A has sou
ht o
i
oc
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iti
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.'. IN ALL sTREF:?r JoultxAL ' eiee Roundup ort of thing Is never on a company basis orally comes in "debriefing" Interviews with
With at least rieeming,sincerity, some busi?;Iways turns 'down that kind of request.
nessmen do insist in sweeping fashion that they +y Companies sometimes are puzzled by tin
will have no truck with the CIA, Romaine sort of information sought by the CIA. "Sons
Fielding, 47-year-old president and owner-of a of these things they. could get out of news
Los Angeles concern that, acts as' sales rep-. papers," says a spokesman for an oil, com
resentative for about 40 U.S. manufacturers,; pang that has at times been asked Its view
has made 13 trips to the Soviet Union over the , on thq economic stability of a foreign country
past eight years. Twice the CIA has asked him An executive of a Chicago drug manufac
for help, he says, and both times he has ;Curer reports that about two years ago in
refused. ;was interviewed by. the. CIA after a trip t
"At no time did I let'the conversation even , England, a' nation . that would seem, to link
get into specifics," he 'recalls., In Mr. Field- 'few secrets for the U.S. ''They wanted m,
ing's view, "the only row for a businessman ;impressions from talking with businessmen-
to hoe is right down the middle, without In-. how they viewed business prospects, whethe
volvement." the pound looked strong, whether, they like
Most companice hn.ve no hard-and-fast rules ,Americans," says the executive. "I gave then
about relations with the GIA. They weigh each l' no, profound information that they couldn'
request for cooperation as it. arises. In 'gen.,, have gotten from any bank doing busines
era.l, they seem to he willing to go along when! there or any embassy.",
they are convinced that doing so won't hurt' Looking at 'Mnvlcs
them. "Obviously, .you are going to help as ? According to Kaiser Jeep, tine CIA ' wa.
much as you can without jeopardizing your- particularly Interested in looking at movie,
self overseas, says one Ohio executive. ? i the firm had made on its promotional venture
"One has to balance. the national inirro: t" behind the Iron C%irt.ain, even thnii,;h the film
with one's own interest in being. effective consisted -primarily of show of Jeep sales die
+orld-wide, says a corporate. official in Los plays in the countries visited. Kaiser shippc
Angeles. He goes on to argue that rejecting a, the movies to Washington as requested, but
CIA request for assistance is not necessarily Itiatser official observes: "We never did figure
a selfish flouting, of the common good-sug? out what.was so Important about the movies
gesting, in essence, that, what is. good for a .We were showing them all across, the U.S