Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 43 › Conversation 043-196

Nixon phone call with Mills on International trade and Tariff surcharge

Friday, February 23, 1973 · 3:47 PM–3:53 PM ET · White House Telephone · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Mills, Wilbur D.Conversation043-196 on Tape 43StartFriday, February 23, 1973 at 3:47 PMEndFriday, February 23, 1973 at 3:53 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 043-196 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417195095 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Congressman Wilbur D. Mills discussed the implementation of a 15% selective tariff surcharge to address international trade imbalances and the perceived failure of the Smithsonian Agreement. Mills argued that such drastic measures were necessary to force international cooperation, noting that he planned to issue a press release to pressure the administration into adopting this stance. Additionally, the pair briefly discussed the looming risk of a domestic milk shortage and potential regulatory adjustments to fluid milk and dairy prices to prevent supply deficits.

Audio

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NARA Description

On February 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Wilbur D. Mills talked on the telephone from 3:47 pm to 3:53 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 043-196 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 43-196

Date: February 23, 1973
Time: 3:47 pm - 3:53 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Wilbur D. Mills.

[See Conversation No. 413-17C]

       Mills’s health

       International economic issues
             -15% tariff surcharge
                   -Mills’s concerns
                   -Pierre Rinfret, Arthur F. Burns, Alan Greenspan
                         -Mills’s previous conversations
                   -George P. Shultz
                   -Tony Solomon
                   -Mills press release
                         -Smithsonian Agreement
                               -Floating currencies
                                      -Great Britain
                                      -Switzerland
                                      -Italy
                                      -Mills concerns
             -US deficit and balance of payments
             -Reaction of labor to US action
             -The President’s view
                   -Shultz

       Mills’s health
                                             -113-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                             Conversation No. 43-196 (cont’d)

       The President’s location
            -Old Executive Office Building
            -The President’s family

       Milk producers
            -Mills’s meeting with the President
            -The President’s meeting with John B. Connally
            -Mills’s concerns
                   -Shortages
                   -Cheese
                   -Possible solutions
                         -Prices
                   -Earl L. Butz
            -Political contributions to political parties

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Congressman Mills, sir.
Hello.
Mr. President, how are you?
How are you in Arkansas?
Oh, I'm feeling fine.
A little back problem like you and I have occasionally.
Yeah, yeah.
I'll be back one of these days before long.
Yeah, yeah.
What I want to talk to you about.
Your surcharge.
Yeah, again.
I've talked to Pierre Renfray again.
I've talked to Arthur Burns again.
I haven't talked to Alan.
I've tried to get a hold of Alan Greenspan.
I've talked to a number of others that you wouldn't talk to that feel that if your deal doesn't work within a few days, you've almost got to take this drastic action that I'm urging.
Fifteen percent?
Yeah.
That'd be selective, however.
Oh, yes, on a selective basis.
You can't apply it to oil and things like that.
You've got to bring them to the table.
In other words, to their knees.
Let me say this, just for purposes of the bargaining and so forth.
Your saying it is a good step in any event.
And I'll get to George here, and we'll see what situation.
You see what I mean?
It's like it's... What's that?
He's not going to be for it.
I know, but I want to talk to him about it, see what my point is.
I know, neither is my friend Tony Solomon for it.
He's threatening to quit because I've suggested it.
You've got to say what you believe, I understand that.
And what you're trying to do is shake the apple tree.
I'm shaking the apple tree if I can.
What time are you going to do this?
I put out another release today that ought to be out late this afternoon.
And what I'm saying is that you need this degree of flexibility.
That you have to have it.
That they've made a shambles, not we, but they have made a shambles of the Smithsonian Agreement.
They haven't lived up to it.
The British floated, the Swiss floated.
And others, the Italians have floated.
And the others have not agreed to, none of them have, to one of the points of the agreement.
We seem to never agree to anything.
They've just got to be jolted.
$30 billion deficit in their balance of payments we just can't take.
Mm-hmm.
side of labor, too.
Let me say that I appreciate your informing me about it.
I haven't had a chance to talk to George and the boys.
I know what you're doing, but in any event, it's important.
It can't do anything but help for you to say it.
I've been the bad boy before.
That's right.
Can't help you without a bat, can I?
I got a good osteopath.
I know you have.
You won't use him.
But I'm doing all right.
It's just a case of taking enough therapy to get to where I can sit up a little bit.
Oh, boy.
What is it, muscle spasm?
Yes.
This time.
Oh, that's rough.
That's rough.
Boy, I just turned there because I know you can't hardly straighten up.
Where are you, in Washington?
Yep, I'm in Washington, yeah.
Sitting right up here in EOB.
Just fine.
They're just fine.
Good.
Everybody's fine.
We missed you yesterday.
We wanted to have you over for a little while, but we'll see you.
Well, I'll be back.
When I get back there, I want to talk to you about another problem that John Connolly talked to you about and I mentioned briefly.
Good.
About a problem in milk.
All right.
Oh, yes.
Our friends.
Okay.
Oh, yes.
Yes.
About the cheese?
cheese, fluid milk.
You know what they're doing?
They're selling their milk cows now 35 cents a pound.
I don't know what it means.
That means, I see, oh, they're selling it because it brings so much money, huh?
Oh, yes.
And that'll bring a milk shortage.
A milk shortage, definitely.
What do you do about that?
Well, frankly... You can't let the price of milk go up.
Well, what we ought to do is adjust it some way.
You don't have to do it all.
You can bring butter down, bring your powdered milk up a little, bring your fluid milk up to about one cent a quart, something like that, and probably save the situation.
If we don't do it, we're going to be way short next year.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Good.
Well, when you get back... Butts knows all of this.
When you get back, when you get back, you give me a call, maybe you and Butts and... Butts knows all of this, but he's afraid if he does anything, he'll be accused by the papers of having...
money from the milk producers i know i know i know that's a problem you know that's and you know it's true but but the point is you know it's true of democrats and republicans well you and me both right most of it that's right i know okay okay we'll have to share it announcement you take care

Also recorded on February 23, 1973

  • 043-192 3:32 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:32 pm and 3:38 pm.
  • 043-193 3:32 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:32 pm and 3:38 pm.
  • 413-014 3:32 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:32 pm and 3:35 pm.
  • 413-015 3:35 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:35 pm and 3:38 pm.
  • 413-016 3:35 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:35 pm and 3:38 pm.
  • 413-017 3:35 PM · 41 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Gerald R. Ford, White House operator, Wilbur D. Mills, Stephen B. Bull, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:35 pm to 4:40 pm.
  • 043-194 3:38 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford talked on the telephone from 3:38 pm to 3:44 pm.
  • 043-195 3:44 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:44 pm and 3:47 pm.

All 94 conversations from February 23, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 043-196, February 23, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417195095). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/043-196 (accessed November 1, 2026).