SOVIET EXPORTS TO THE US MADE WITH FORCED OR PRISON LABOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00363R001202660016-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 5, 2008
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: October 17, 1983
• Content Type: MEMO

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The Director of Central Intelligence
Washington, D.C. 20505
National Intelligence Council
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Intelligence
FROM: Maurice C. Ernst
NIO for Economics
NIC #7460-83
17 October 1983
SUBJECT: Soviet Exports to the US Made with Forced
or Prison Labor
1. As you know, the Commissioner of Customs von Raab became aware a
couple of months ago that he has the authority, under one of the provisions
of the Smoot-Hawley tariff of the 1930s, to ban US imports of foreign
products made with forced or prison labor. He requested information from
CIA, through and received an unclassified memorandum from the
DCI (prepare y fisting Soviet products that are in part exported and
produced with forced or prison labor. Von Raab sent the memorandum to
Senator Armstrong, who had been conducting investigations into this matter
as part of the reaction to the Korean airliner incident, and who then
introduced the CIA material into the Congressional Record. Senators
Armstrong and Helms have been pushing von Raab to take action on this
front.
2. I was invited to an IG meeting on this issue on 5 October by
Zretary of the Treasury for Enforcement Walker. At my request,
attended in my place, after preparing another memo, which both
repeated e earlier unclassified commodity list, and characterized the
available classified evidence.
3. The issue was then to up at a SIG-IEP meeting on 13 October,
which I attended with of SOYA. Walker and von Raab described
their authority to ban imports made with slave labor and their intention to
do so, subject to the Secretary of the Treasury's approval. I briefly
reviewed what we knew, pointing out that there is convincing, if often
circumstantial, evidence that some of the production of the items we had
listed occurred with slave or prison labor, but that we had little or no
information about the specific characteristics or brand names of the
products, or about whether or not they were exported to the United
All portions Secret SECRET
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States. Von Raab's proposed action met with little support, including from
the other parts of Treasury. It was agreed that more information was
needed from CIA on the specific evidence of the use of forced labor for
particular products imported into the United States.
4. I understand that the relevant evidence rnncictc mainly of
5. I gather that describing, and where feasible, assessing the
specific evidence should present no major problems. The tricky part of the
study is to define categories--or "classes"--of Soviet exports to the
United States. The Commissioner of Customs apparently has the authority to
ban a "class" of merchandise of imports, but the term "class" is not
defined. It seems to me that CIA should avoid putting itself in the
position of defining what constitutes a "class" of imports. This can be
done by using an established system of commodity classification. In this
case the most convenient and useful classification would be the US import
classification. CIA can list the specific information on the use of forced
labor under each of the relevant categories of the US import classification
at the most detailed level of disaggregation that the evidence allows. In
this way we will provide the policy officials and lawyers a basis for
decisions on both the adequacy of the evidence and the appropriate level of
disaggregation. Neither of these judgments is an intelligence matter.
6. Attached is pertinent material that I have received from von Raab
and other sources. This includes:
(1) The relevant part of the Congressional Record, including the
memo and list from the Director.
(2) The classified CIA memo that was sent to the members of the IG,
and a follow-up memo to Customs.
(3) A draft memo from von Raab to the Secretary of the Treasury, to
which is appended a tentative detailed list of US imports from
the USSR that Customs believes, might
have been produced with forced labor.
(4) The pertinent section of the Smoot-Hawley Act.
(5) A synopsis of instances in which this authority was used in the
past.
(6) A State Department memo arguing that it should not be used.
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(7) An internal Customs memo which tries to define aspects of the
Commissioner's legal authority.
Maurice C. Ernst
Attachments:
As stated
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Jtl,Kt I
NIC # 7460-83
17 October 1983
SUBJECT: Soviet Exports to the US Made with Forced or Prison Labor
DCI/NIC/NIO/Econ:M.Ernst:bha(17 Oct 83)
Dist:
Orig - DDI
1 - D/SOVA
1 - D/OGI
1 - ExDir (info)
1 - NIO/USSR-EE
1 - VC/NIC (CW)
1 - VC/NIC (HM)
1 - DDI Registry
2 - NIO/Econ
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