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August 15, 1974 - Ford, Kissinger, Senators Jackson, Javits, and Ribicoff
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August 15, 1974 - Ford, Kissinger, Senators Jackson, Javits, and Ribicoff
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Memoranda of Conversations (Nixon and Ford Administrations)
Ford Administration Memoranda of Conversations
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File scanned from the National Security Adviser's Memoranda of Conversation Collection at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
MEMORANDUM
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
SECRET/NODIS
MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION
PARTICIPANTS:
President Gerald Ford
Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, Secretary of State and
Assistant to the President for National
Security Affairs
Mr. William E. Timmons, Assistant to the
President
Lt. General Brent Scowcroft, Deputy Assistant to
the President for National Security Affairs
Senator Henry M. Jackson
Senator Jacob K. Javits
Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff
DATE AND TIME:
Wednesday, August 15, 1974
8:00 a. m.
PLACE:
The White House
First Floor-Private Dining Room
President: The Trade Bill is a matter of highest priority--not only for
our own benefit but for all the world.
Number two is to get a better handle on Jewish emigration from the
Soviet Union. As I tried to say on Monday--the House bill. I didn't
identify the amendment, but you know what I mean.
Russell Long is going to campaign. I don't know why. Russell tells me
everything is going well. If agreement here can be reached he sees
little trouble on the floor.
E.O. 12958, SEC.
NSC MEMO, STATE GUIDELINES
MARA, DATE 3/25/04
I am familiar with the discussions Dr. Kissinger and Scoop have had on
DECLARSIFIED
the letters. Dobrynin came in yesterday. He had planned to stay in
the Soviet Union until September or October. He cut his stay short in
order to indicate their interest in the continuation of their policy. He
FORD
SECRET/NODIS
&
BY
GERALD
LIBRARY
TOP SECRET XGDS (3)
CLASSIFIED BY: HENRY A. KISSINGER
SECRET/NODIS
2
spent most of the time telling us that Brezhnev said that if harassment
and difficulty with numbers continue, Brezhnev could take personal
responsibility with the President. The President could complain
directly to Brezhnev. Remember, Scoop, they previously said we
had to bring it to the proper authorities, but never to Brezhnev.
Jackson: I think we are making good progress. The Russians are giving.
The reports back from the Soviet Union are that they now consider there
are 300, 000 wanting to leave. They could handle that in 4-5 years. We
got some letter changes last night. We three are in agreement. I want
to touch base in the Senate, and talk to Meany. He is up tight about it.
The labor people are fighting the hill.
Javits: The Trade Bill. This indicates their hangup.
Jackson: With this in the bill you will get more support from those who
will push it for emigration.
Kissinger: In the text of the letter we can't bother the President just
about a legal clause. For example, it will cause no trouble with the
Soviet Union to say "as frequently happened in the past. 11
Jackson: There are two areas. One is harassment. This is not just
for the Jewish emigrants; it's all of the ethnic groups. The others are
tough, but not well organized. They are hot on this.
President: I know, I have 5, 000 Latvians in my old district.
Jackson: The big problem is harassment. If you apply, you get harassed.
Kissinger: They have specifically said those practices wouldn't take
place. They may not keep the agreement, but that is something they have
specifically assured us.
President: I can assure you that, if we get an agreement, if there are
violations of it, it won't take me 24 hours to cut it off.
Ribicoff: There has been much quiet cooperation among us. We are
at the last issue-- the 60, 000 figure. Is that realistic?
Kissinger: I am worried. If Jackson's figure is right, it is okay, but
we don't know that. They don't want to have to expel people to meet a
quota. They say the applications are dropping because of the Middle
East situation. Would we know if harassment continues?
SECRET/NODIS
FORD di LIBRARY GERALD
SECRET/NODIS
3
Jackson: Not necessarily. The subtle forms are the toughest. They
are out to avoid quotas. The scheme is the letter, the response, and
the interpretation. Our letter would say emigration would rise
promptly from what they were.
Kissinger: That we can live with.
Jackson: This avoids your being associated with a quota. We must
have the 1973 figures because this year is lower.
Kissinger: If you relate that to the number of applicants, and if there
is no harassment, it should work if they keep their word.
Jackson: They are moving on security clearances. A cable I have here
says they could leave after three years. There is general movement,
Mr. President, which shows that the Soviet Union is in economic trouble.
We don't want to push them into a corner.
MFN is a source of pride to them. The credits are a touchy area
because they don't have anything to sell that doesn't require US capital.
Oil, aluminum. They have hydroelectric power and Kaiser is putting
up a plant. Forty percent of producing an ingot is power. But it is
Kaiser capital.
President: If good authority for MFN is given, with Presidential authority
to cut it off for violations with the assurances they and I have given, we
have a club to insure performance.
Jackson: Yes, what we would do is leave it hang but with waiver authority.
[He reads from the draft]. This is enough language. This is also your
club with the Soviet Union.
President: Is the House bill a denial of authority?
Javits: The House language is onerous.
President: Let me propose. The general authority would cover all. Then
a denial could apply to any one country who denied emigration.
Javits: That's not good either. You don't want to force you or us to
break with the Soviet Union. We shouldn't be put in a place where it has to
be proved that there are violations. The renewal obligation makes it
an affirmative action, not a cut-off.
SECRET/NODIS
GERALD
BRARY
SECRET/NODIS
4
Jackson: By this method we would share the burden.
President: Let's see, I make a 12-month report and ask for an extension.
Congress approves by a majority vote. How do we avoid a bottle-up?
Jackson: We could write in a must vote within so many days. We
would grant it--this is a big concession--immediately. The Soviet
Union wants MFN immediately and we make this big concession.
Timmons: It applies to credits also.
Jackson: Everything.
Kissinger: What worries me is this: If Congress has to renew your
authority every year, we can have this kind of debate every year.
Javits: We could write a line that the President has the right to waive
and then say this will continue for one year.
President: It's acumbersome procedure which is like the one on chrome.
If we go this route we would have to have prompt resolution.
Jackson: We would have provisions to insure prompt action.
Kissinger: We can just get by with the letter. The interpretative state-
ments overload the circuit. We have shown them this letter. There
was no disagreement, on what the performance must be, but just on
how to write it.
Javits: The interpretive letter is best.
Ribicoff: But Dr. Kissinger has to show it to the Soviet Union.
Kissinger: We have to distinguish between the objective and what we write
down.
Javits: Take the non-proliferation treaty. We issued an interpretation
about the French and British nuclear forces and the Soviet Union issued
just exactly the opposite. Let the Soviet Union say what it wants.
FORD
&
President: How will the one-year affect business contracts?
Javits: Even if we cut it off, contracts made will continue.
GERALD
LIBRARY
President: What worries me is that you identify a particular country by this.
SECRET/NODIS
5
Jackson: No, just non-market states.
Kissinger: How would it apply to East Europe?
Jackson: It's the same for all of them.
Kissinger: How about Romanians?
Jackson: You would have to seek some assurances. The Romanians
say they won't have any problem.
President: Supposing Romania performs and the Soviet Union doesn't.
How would we handle that ?
Jackson: We would workthat out.
Javits: Abe and I talked to Ceausescu and he said it was no problem. I
think they stopped because the Soviet Union didn't want them to set bloc
policy. The PRC isn't yet an issue.
Kissinger: Because they want to keep MFN from the Soviet Union.
Scoop has a great future in the PRC.
Jackson: They say the threat will come through Europe. Chou wants
to talk to Mansfield on this.
Javits: The complaint in the Jewish community is that the Soviet Union
has cut the rate and they should restore the rate before we move to show
good faith. I said no. The same on the high visibility trials. They
also fear numbers, as a possible quota. I don't buy this because with
artful language we can make it okay.
Jackson: We don't want a bilateral agreement between West Germany
and the Soviet Union to affect this. This argument is for about 1000
a month. We wouldn't want any other agreements to count against
this quota.
President: I am worried about the language. I would prefer blanket auth-
ority with a right to cut off.
Let's get the technicians together and see if we can't work it out.
Jackson: This is so designed that Congress has to retain some authority.
FUND
a
SECRET/NODIS
GERALD
LIBRARY
SECRET/NODIS
6
Javits: I think I can work something out on a waiver if he [Kissinger]
believes it is viable to keep the Jackson Amendment with some
positive or negative waiver. We need to try this.
Kissinger: How about a waiver subject to Congressional veto? It is
the affirmative vote that worries me.
Jackson: Let's go back and work more- We are determined. I am
a strong supporter of the trade bill. We are getting strong pressures
from pressure groups.
Timmons: I have three points I would like to make quickly. On the
other ethnic groups, how does this apply?
Renewal--how would it be done? And what do we say to the press?
President: That it was a very constructive meeting. Momentum is now
under way for one of the most important pieces of legislation on the
calendar.
Jackson: We will praise the President for constructive efforts for a
solution. But don't say it is settled. We don't want to let the Soviet
Union think we capitulated.
Javits: Also, we are determined, if it is humanly possible, to have a
trade bill.
Jackson: You and Abe cover that.
Ribicoff: You are in a great position here with the change of President.
We will have no problem knowing about harassment. The most important
thing is numbers. Once we have established that, and the exchange of
letters, I am not worried.
On ce we know that harassment is ending and people are leaving, we
are in good shape. They should go ahead with mark-up and amend
on the floor to add the waiver.
Kissinger: If I may summarize, the three Senators are saying that if we
keep the Jackson Amendment, they can be flexible on waiver authority.
Let us look at this.
SECRET/NODIS
FORD
&
GERALD
LIBRARY
SECRET/NODIS
7
Jackson: We will ensure there can be no delay or filibuster. We
will get our drafting people on this to get the language right. We
had little time and this is only a rough idea and formulation.
President: The ExIm Bank lawyers don't understand all the legis-
lative procedures.
Jackson: We should look at the options.
FORD
?
GERALD
LIBRARY
SECRET/NODIS
Richingh Jaintol Twinno
DECLARSIFIED
NSC MEMO, 11/24/98, E.O. 12958, STATE SEC. DEPT. 3.5 GUIDELINES stateleview 3/9/04
15 any
BY Wa
, NARA, DATE 3/25/04
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