Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 409 › Conversation 409-001
Nixon, Trend & Kissinger on International Trade and Agricultural Policy
Thursday, February 1, 1973 · 4:08 PM–6:05 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 27 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with British Prime Minister Edward Heath, along with Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, and Sir Burke Trend, to discuss bilateral trade relations and domestic economic challenges. The conversation focused on the political difficulties of agricultural trade policy and the nuances of unemployment statistics as they related to the broader American welfare landscape. The group also touched upon the competitive pressures posed by Japanese manufacturing and the need for ongoing cooperation between the United States and its European allies.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 18 minutes of this recording (about 66% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On February 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Sir Burke Trend, Henry A. Kissinger, George P. Shultz, and Edward R. G. Heath met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:08 pm to 6:05 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 409-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 409-1 (cont’d)
-US
-Products
-Industrialization
-Agricultural lobby
-Trade deal
-Labor
-Farmers
-Portion of population
-Portion in Congress
-Senate
-Problem for Great Britain
-Farmers
-Portion of population
-Agricultural workers
-Negotiations
-Population
-Canada
Economic issues
-J. Willard (“Bill”) Marriott, Jr.
-Hotels
-Restaurants
-Unemployment
-Workers
-January 1973 figures
-Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]
-1972 election
-George S. McGovern’s use of issue
-Statistics
-Men [?]
-Women
-Fluctuating employment
-Blacks
-Welfare and unemployment
-Blacks
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Aug.-09)
Conversation No. 409-1 (cont’d)
-Birthrate
-Whites
-College
-Blacks
-Great Britain
-Welfare [?] options
-US
-Family assistance programs
-Food stamps
-Welfare
-Daniel P. (“Pat”) Moynihan
-Meeting with Heath [?]
Trade deal
-US goal
-Cooperation
-Europe-US relations
-Great Britain, Italy, Germany
-Politics, economics
-Japan
-Europe
-Products
-Cameras, television sets
-The President’s equipment
-Dictation machine [?]
-Sony
-International Business Machines Corporation
[IBM]
-Schedule
-Agenda
-Meeting
-Camp David
-Heath’s motorcade [?]
-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew [?]
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Aug.-09)
Conversation No. 409-1 (cont’d)
The President, Heath, et al., left at 6:05 pm.Also recorded on February 1, 1973
- 406-057 1:40 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:40 pm and 2:48 pm.
- 846-013 2:56 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:56 pm to 2:57 pm.
- 846-014 2:57 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 2:57 pm.
- 846-015 2:58 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:58 pm to 3:03 pm.
- 846-016 3:05 PM · 59 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Linwood Holton, Francis W. Sargent, John R. ("Jack") Williams, Jr., George H. W. Bush, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., James H. Falk, J. Marsh Thompson, Robert D. Ray, Arch A. Moore, Jr., John A. Love, Winfield Dunn, Manolo Sanchez, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:05 pm to 4:02 pm.
- 846-017 4:02 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:02 pm to 4:03 pm.
- 846-018 4:03 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:03 pm to 4:05 pm.
- 409-002 6:07 PM · 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:07 pm to 6:41 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 409-001, February 1, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/409-001 (accessed October 1, 2026).