Word: wheats
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...during 1980, as well as about 12 million tons more from other nations. The Carter Administration stopped the export of approximately 17 million tons, but the Soviets have been able to make up for most of that on world markets. The Soviet Union has been obtaining large amounts of wheat and corn from Argentina, which refused to support the U.S. boycott. Usually the Soviets are forced to pay higher prices to these suppliers than they paid...
Some grain exporters have picked up part of the trade slack by thinly disguised transshipments. During the twelve months preceding September 1979, for example, only 764,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat were shipped from Duluth, Minn., to Canada. But in the following twelve months, the quantity more than doubled, to 1.8 million tons. Says William Cortez of the Duluth Port Authority: "This is definitely not grain for Canadian consumption. You have to assume that it is being shipped elsewhere...
...trying to give the embargo the coup de grâce. France, which is Western Europe's leading grain producer, although it is not a major world exporter, has just completed a bumper harvest. The French this year will have 3 million to 4 million tons of wheat available for export. As a member of the European Community, France is bound by a pledge made last winter that it would not take advantage of the American embargo by boosting its own grain exports to the Soviet Union. But now the French government wants the Community to shelve the commitment...
...year ago, the gasoline ration was three liters a month; now it is four liters every three months. The Soviet Union contributes about $5 million a day in economic assistance, but its value is limited. Explains a Vietnamese economist: "You can't buy American technology or Canadian wheat with rubles." Some of Moscow's aid benefits mostly the U.S.S.R. One Saigon factory tailored 500,000 pairs of blue jeans for the Soviets. Unaware of what jeans cost, the Vietnamese agreed to be paid a mere 50? per pair...
...patience and stubbornness pay off eventually. Last week American negotiators were wrapping up final details on an agreement for the Chinese to buy up to 9 million tons of wheat and corn annually for three years. Says Agriculture Secretary Bob Bergland: "This is an indication that the Chinese intend to be a major customer for U.S. exports...