STAFF NOTES: SOVIET UNION - EASTERN EUROPE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00865A001800300002-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 7, 2002
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: September 30, 1975
• Content Type: NOTES

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Cultural Conference in Romania
The annual meeting of culture ministers from
ten socialist countries--held in Bucharest last
week--apparently made little progress in reaching
any common approach to problems raised by the Hel-
sinki accords.
The communique issued at the close of the
three-day conference characterized the proceedings
as an "extensive exchange of opinions," and fre-
quently used the word "debate" to describe the dis-
cussions. Dealing with the expected ideological
confrontation over the expanded contacts and ex-
changes of information provisions in Basket III of
the Helsinki agreements seems to have been a major
sticking point.
The Romanians, as usual, were determined to
resist any kind of ideological coordination or regi-
mentation. President Ceausescu urged the conference
to divert its debate from the "cultural-artistic-
information" flow, to problems of "economic equal-
v4,-5ity" and overcoming the gap between rich and poor
nations. This formulation is anathema to the So-
viets because it deviates from the strict Marxist-
Leninist class-struggle concept and divides the
world into "have" and "have not" countries. It also
]Lumps the Soviet Union with the US, West Germany,
and the major capitalist states as a "have."
Ceausescu also advised the participants to
understand the "spirit" of the CSCE documents in
terms of today's realities--an indirect slap at
Moscow's attempt to reimpose ideological orthodoxy
in the international communist movement.
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High on Warsaw's agenda will be Eximbank fi-
nancing of major projects with US firms that are
in the final stages of negotiation. These include
a $400-million General Motors proposal for a plant
to produce delivery vans, a $250-million bid on
the Stalowa Wola forge and foundry, a $110-million
RCA proposal for color picture tube technology, and
new International Harvester projects. The Poles
are also likely to urge the US to work against EC
trade barriers, which have hurt Polish hard cur-
rency earnings in recent years.
Poland's trade with the US increased almost
fourfold to $730 million between 1970 and 1974, ac-
cording to Polish trade data. Imports from the US
surged from $58 million in 1970 to $475 million in
1974--accounting for almost half of total East
European imports from the US last year. Most of
the increase stemmed from purchases of feed grains
and meals. Eximbank credits extended in 1972 have
enabled Poland to increase substantially its pur-
chases of US machinery and equipment.
Polish exports to the US have increased more
slowly, from $93 million in 1970 to $260 million in
1974. As a result, Poland recorded trade deficits
with the US in 1973 and 1974 for the first time
since 1964. Canned hams and pork traditionally ac-
count for 40 percent or more of Polish sales to
the US.
The fifth session of the US-Polish Joint Trade
Commission, to be held in Warsaw on October 6-8,
will focus on bilateral business relations and
trade.
4
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New Polish orders for plant and equipment and
continued large deliveries of grains--necessitated
Poland: Joint Trade Commission
September 30, 1975
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by cutbacks in grain deliveries from the USSR and
shortfalls in its own harvest--will push Poland's
purchases to more than $600 million in 1975. Ex-
port prospects to the US are dim. In the first
half of 1975, Polish exports to the US were down
by more than 6 percent from the comparable period
in 1974.
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