Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 302 › Conversation 302-017
Nixon & Rockefeller on Import surcharges and International trade policy
Friday, October 29, 1971 · 3:10 PM–3:20 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 10 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Nelson A. Rockefeller discuss a strategy to leverage the lifting of U.S. import surcharges as a diplomatic tool to reward allies, specifically focusing on Latin American countries and Canada. Nixon outlines a plan to negotiate oil security commitments with Canada while considering a staggered removal of trade barriers to benefit cooperative nations like Mexico following their support in a recent U.N. vote. The two agree to coordinate these efforts with George Shultz and Robert Finch to ensure that diplomatic visitors can announce the policy changes during upcoming international tours.
- Import surcharges
- International trade policy
- Diplomatic strategy
- Canada-U.S. relations
- Latin American relations
- George Shultz
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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Hello?
Hello?
Nelson, how are you?
Fine, fine.
You're doing fine.
I always keep that through to our friend Rylan.
Yes, yes.
Yeah, I asked him to, of course, check in with you before he went.
Right.
Right.
I know we haven't done a damn thing about it, I know.
When you say this, we're right on the same track.
And this is in confidence at this point for obvious reasons.
We are now examining a plan where we can do it for the Canadians and for Latin America.
Now, the Canadian thing is holding it up a bit because we want to try to get something from them on a commitment on their oil.
You know, there's a complicated matter that I won't go into, but you know the problem probably.
They buy cheap oil from Venezuela and sell expensive oil to us.
We don't mind that, but we want to be sure that if our oil supply gets cut off, they'll continue to sell oil to us and not hold us up, you see.
And they ought to make that commitment to us.
I think.
Anyway.
We think that if we could do that, then that we could lift it for the whole bunch.
Now, the second point, though, and I'm sure you'll appreciate this, and Colin and I talked a little about this, is that when we do do it, we thought we might move maybe a day early on places like Mexico, that we're good enough to go with us in that U.N. vote.
And a day later on, you understand what I mean, just let them have a little bit of a ban on that.
But our plan, the whole surcharge moved toward removing it for Latin America.
Now when you go, I'm inclined to think, frankly, that I'd rather go up there.
Connell will be talking to the Indonesians, the Thais, the Filipinos, and of course the Japanese.
Japanese is a special problem, but that's going to go on, actually.
The problem we have, though, is that I frankly don't really want to
water and it would grow with damn African countries, you know.
You get my point?
How do you feel about that?
You know, here's the thing.
We have got to start having more of a program of reward and punishment, not openly, but just quietly.
Countries that are for us, like, it was hard for the Mexicans to put with us on this, but Echeverria did it, you know, and now he deserves a little credit, in my view.
Right.
And then we'll negotiate with the Europeans at a later time.
That is our present thing.
The Europeans, they're playing their own games, and we understand that.
But we've got to play our games, too.
Not only the Western Hemisphere, but it seems to me it should be the Western Hemisphere, naturally Australia, and it should be Indonesia, Thailand, the free Asian area.
with the Japanese being a separate problem.
But that is, as I say, that is working out with the Japanese.
But on the Latin American side, coming back to your proposition, we definitely are looking in that direction.
And I think what we would tell Finch, rather than having him announce it before we go, I think that I'll tell him,
If he could go to each one of these people, you see, and talk about the thing and say, now, we're all discussing this, so that they know that it's coming.
I don't know that we can get it ready by the time you leave.
I think you leave on the 5th, and I'll be back on the 10th.
And we'd like to make a move on the whole hemisphere at one time, you see.
Well, maybe we ought to, maybe we can move on sooner.
I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll kick the, I'll kick the...
The Canadian negotiation along with it, it's underway.
In fact, Schultz is coming over in about a half hour to discuss it.
If we can get the Canadian thing on the way.
I think you can see the point of doing Canada.
Because your point is we'd like to get a chilly reception from us otherwise.
That's right.
Right.
Very good point.
Good point.
Good point.
A very good point.
Uh, I will get at this, this is very, I think you're right in here.
I think we could, even if we could say that we're, that it's, no, I think it's, I think actually we're at the same rate.
We all think we could get it done before he goes to the, and then he could, he could walk out of the office and let him sort of help make the announcement or something.
You know, that's, I see your point.
So that when he goes down there, they don't think he, that, well, he can
We'll position it in a way that he worked on it, you worked on it, you know what I mean?
I don't mind.
Well, I think that's true.
Yeah, right, right.
Well, of course, I guess we could do a lot in America without cannabis.
They aren't ready, but particularly if the Canadians knew we were negotiating with them.
Well, they know we're negotiating with them.
We've got a team there right now.
All right.
Let me ask you to do this.
I'll have George Schultz give you a call and give him a hard sell on it, will you?
Because you believe him.
Yeah.
And also another thing, too, we have to go ahead on their preferential thing.
This, in a sense, does treat them with preference by removing it from them before we remove it from yours.
They'll understand that.
Right.
That's right.
Well, anything you can do to help them on that, I would appreciate it.
He isn't going to make the kind of a tour you did.
It's only going to be to selected countries.
But they're going to be damned important.
He's going to Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, I think.
Well, I think we've seen the worst, perhaps.
And we, you're right, we should have this number before.
And if he can't do it before, we ought to postpone it until he can.
I agree.
I agree.
I agree.
I agree.
Now, I'll have Schultz give you a call, too.
Incidentally, everything is going all right.
You've ridden out that silly attic storm, haven't you?
Those bastards.
Oh, I know.
I've heard about that.
I heard that it was a truck.
That's for transportation, I think.
But that will help you for everything, doesn't it, Green?
I know, I know.
Great.
Good to talk to you.
We'll work on this.
Bye.
NARA Description
On October 29, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Nelson A. Rockefeller met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:10 pm to 3:20 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 302-017 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 302-17 Date: October 29, 1971 Time: 3:10 pm - 3:20 pm Location: Executive Office Building The President talked with Nelson A. Rockefeller. ********************************************************************** BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1 [Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 09/19/2019. Segment will remain closed.] [Personal Returnable] [302-017-w001] [Duration: 42s] [See Conversation No. 013-036-w001] END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1 **********************************************************************
Also recorded on October 29, 1971
- 302-014 3:05 PM · 6 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 3:05 pm and 3:06 pm.
- 013-034 3:06 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 3:06 pm to 3:08 pm.
- 302-015 3:06 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:06 pm to 3:08 pm.
- 013-035 3:08 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:10 pm.
- 302-016 3:08 PM · 4 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 3:08 pm and 3:10 pm.
- 013-036 3:10 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Nelson A. Rockefeller talked on the telephone from 3:10 pm to 3:20 pm.
- 013-037 3:20 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:20 pm and 4:10 pm.
- 302-018 3:20 PM · 1 hr 50 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, White House operator, George P. Shultz, Manolo Sanchez, unknown person(s), and John C. Whitaker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:20 pm to 5:16 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 302-017, October 29, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/302-017 (accessed September 30, 2026).