BRIEFING FOR VICE PRESIDENT BUSH, 19 MARCH 1983

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00287R000501020001-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 13, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 24, 1983
• Content Type: MEMO

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24 March 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR: 25X1
Director, Office of European Analysis
THROUGH : 25X1
Chief, Western Europe Division
Chief, European Issues Division
WE/BBC
] EI/SI
SUBJECT : Briefing For Vice President Bush, 19 March 1983
1. This briefing was given at the request of the Vice President to help
prepare him for his trip to Ottawa. Also present at his residence were Don
Gregg of the Vice President's staff, Marty Feldstein of the Council of
Economic Advisers, and an advance man just back from Ottawa. The briefing
began at about 0900.
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3. The US Embassy in Ottawa also had sent back its recommendations with
the advance man. Embassy officials wanted the Vice President to take note of
the ongoing US-Canadian talks on natural gas pricing, to register once again 25X1
US unhappiness over the certain provisions of the National Energy Program, and
EUR M83-10096 X
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to refer in his toast to the US preference for a "strong, united Canada."
4. We then took over; Scofield led off with a statement on the Canadian
position and our understanding of Trudeau's personal views on disarmament and
INF, and the relation of both to cruise missile testing. He followed up with
a general description of Canada's defense policy and its position in NATO.
The Vice President asked for the level of Canada's defense spending, and Don
Gregg queried as to the roots of Canada's strong disarmament constituency --
Pete provided answers to both questions. Mr. Bush also asked whether there
were significant differences between the parties on defense issues, and we
explained the situation in terms of general differences, but noted solid Tory
support for testing. Pete emphasized MacEachen's personal role in the linkage
of the weapons testing agreement, and thus ALCMs, to the dual track
6. John then switched over to East-West economic issues. He sketched
Canada's underlying need for diversification from natural resource industries
into more sophisticated manufacturing, and related that to Canadian
disappointment over failure to get part of the Astrakhan natural gas
project. The Vice President asked if US policy had affected that outcome and
we answered probably not -- although a few Canadians might think so. The Vice
President then turned to grain issues, and gave him the general
background on Canadian grain trade with Eastern Europe, including the recent
sale to East Germany. Feldstein said that Ambassador Gotlieb had recently
talked with him about the issues of competition, credits and subsidization in
international grain trade. Gotlieb had been particularly concerned about a
recent US sale to Iraq, which he thought could be interpreted as a "shot
across the bow" of Canada, comparable to the US sale to Egypt in relation to
the EC. We promised to provide additional information.
7. John then briefly sketched the Canadian view of the upcoming
Williamsburg Summit stressing economic recovery and protectionism as themes.
8. The Vice President then asked about party differences on foreign
ownership and economic relations with the United States, which allowed us to
further explain the problem of economic nationalism in Canada. He also asked
about the degrees of latitude available to the provinces, mentioning
Saskatchewan in particular. We confirmed his general impression of wide
provincial powers, but noted that Saskatchewan turned out the NDP last year,
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9. John then switched to bilateral issues, but was interrupted by the
Vice President who asked why we had not mentioned North-South issues as a
Trudeau preoccupation. We responded that Trudeau's traditional ardor over the
issue had been dampened by the hard-line tactics of some Third World radicals
whom he blamed for the lack of recent progress toward global negotiations. We
noted the recurrence of this theme in public and private during Trudeau's
recent trip to Southeast Asia. We also mentioned Canada's enerally strong
support of the US position on the Middle East. 25X1
10. On bilateral issues, John noted the primacy of acid rain as an issue
in Canadian minds and the prominence of that issue in the quarterly talks
between MacEachen and Secretary Shultz. Mr. Bush questioned how the Canadians
dealt with the problem of the scientific and data uncertainties and we
responded with their position. The advance man intervened at this point to
give his thin understanding of the breakdown of the US-Canadian acid rain
negotiations. We let him run down. Mr. Bush asked how the Canadians felt
about lake liming, and we responded that they felt that it was a superficial
measure at best and logistically very difficult given the numbers and location
of their lakes.
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11. John then turned to other bilateral issues. We raised Canadian
Ambassador Gotlieb's strong belief that the Canadian Embassy should be deeply
involved with the Hill as well as the executive branch, and noted that
MacEachen probably takes a different view. Gotlieb, however, has a close
relationship with Trudeau. The Vice President asked whether there were recent
developments on the dispute involving trade in potatoes between Maine and
Canada. He noted his own links to Maine and contacts with Maine senators. We
promised to get him some information.
12. We closed by mentioning briefly that domestic pressure on the
Canadian Government to become more involved in Central American and Caribbean
affairs had lessened recently and that the government probably hoped to leave
the issue alone. We also noted that, while the formulation on Canadian unity
requested by the Embassy was consistent with the last State Department
statement on the Quebec issue, Levesque's statements of midweek required
careful evaluation. Any necessary modification or reiteration of the US
position could also take place in the context of the Shultz-MacEachen meeting
in April, particularly since Secretary Shultz has not personally addressed the
subject. Both the Vice President and Don Gregg expressed their satisfaction
with the briefing and their appreciation for our efforts. The briefing ended
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Distribution:
1 - OD/EUR
1 - EURA/VIE
2 - EURA Prod. Staff
1 - EURA/WE/BBC
4 - OCO/IDCD/CB
DDI/EURA/WE/BBC
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