Nixon & Flanigan on Textile trade negotiations and Japan

34:07I talked to him last night.
34:10Yes, sir.
34:11You talked to him and he... My view is he's sort of a straight-up crack.
34:22It's all right.
34:23But it has to do with another thing.
34:25I'm just not going to have any congressman.
34:29I'm going to write a tough letter on my own.
34:32It's going to be very tough.
34:36It's going to have to do with me.
34:38I agree with you.
34:39I think what we ought to say is, or I think about it is rather than, I know you're worried and trying to get in safety.
34:46First, let me say, forget all the free trade crap.
34:49Forget the fact that the trade bill may come in.
34:51They may send a bad bill.
34:53There's a lot of stuff on it.
34:55I'll handle that when it comes.
34:57Who knows?
34:57I might sign it.
34:59I understand.
35:01Particularly if they let you wave wherever you want.
35:02Particularly if they let you wave wherever you want.
35:05That's right.
35:06That's right, because basically we may face a situation where a lot of people in this country report, no, what I'd like to say is basically that this is unsatisfactory.
35:15It does not meet these criteria, and therefore I am sending this legislation to the Congress.
35:22And until we have, until we get a satisfactory arrangement, or, I mean, I don't know how you put it in a way that says, well, maybe this deal with Mills is made, might or not be satisfactory.
35:36That worries me.
35:37Let me clear that.
35:38That's quite a worry.
35:40You got another idea?
35:40No, I was following your idea that, frankly, Mills told Peters and yesterday they're not going to be in textile quota legislation this year.
35:48Period.
35:50Therefore, it seems to me you can properly convey your message that the flow of legislation is controlled by or is affected by him, and you're going to enter this monitoring thing.
36:02Only if alternatives say you're going to monitor it, and if it doesn't work, then you'll send up legislation.
36:07But frankly, that makes it look as if you believe it's going to work.
36:09No, never.
36:10No, the legislation will score me.
36:12Right.
36:12And I think that you're just, I'd like to bring in a draft view.
36:16Well, I mean, you work on the thing, and then take it over.
36:18Let John Mitchell get him in to take a look at it and see whether he thinks it's hard enough.
36:27I will.
36:29I had to go the hard way.
36:30I talked to John Cowley, and boy, does he agree with you.
36:33He says, don't use that stiletto, use a meat axe.
36:35He says, say it so the fellow in the street can tell.
36:38We'll understand what you're trying to do.
36:40Know what he said?
36:42Yeah.
36:44He said, I see nothing wrong with this approach, and I see nothing wrong with the statement, but I think you ought to be good and strong.
36:51He says, I think you've been jobbed by those people over there.
36:53That's right.
36:55That's right.
36:56And we've got to say so, and I go ahead and bring it up.
36:58Well, that's my line.
37:00I just wanted to... All right, Mr. President, I've got to tell you that there is the usual consternation...
37:07to some extent, with regard to sending legislation now, is concerned, well, I'm going to let the ORG be.
37:13They're afraid you're going to get bad legislation.
37:18The legislation will be, whether we send it down or not, will not determine whether it's going to be legislation.
37:26That will be determined by other factors.
37:29The Georgia people this year, they're concerned about the fact that, you understand, if they want to have legislation, it's not going to be whether we send down a bill or not.
37:39It's already there.
37:40The other factor is that it will be determined by whether or not they
37:45the filibuster and all the rest.
37:49I would worry about that.
37:50I know what I'm doing.
37:51They're concerned about the other side of the coin.
37:53They don't want anything to do with the Japanese.
37:56I do.
37:56I'm not planning for the Japanese to do this to us.
38:02It isn't just keeping the commitment.
38:04The Japanese have broken their national commitment.
38:06We cannot have this.
38:08We're going to have other platforms.
38:10Other very big names.
38:13And I think the fact, and if we try and be above it and sort of just do it again.
38:20The problem that I, another problem that I think is attacked by this is when the ambassador came in and talked to me about this on Sunday night, I said, Mr.
38:31Ambassador, this does not meet the administration's requirements.
38:35He said, well, are you sure?
38:36Mr. Mills has indicated that the president would not find this unacceptable.
38:40And I said, Mr.
38:41Ambassador, I know the president's position on this, and he would not find this acceptable.
38:47And he said, well, didn't Mr. Mills have breakfast with the president?
38:50Sure.
38:51But the indication is that Mills went out of that, and by what he said, he indicated to the Japanese that you wouldn't mind this thing.
38:59Well, that's it.
39:01i never even saw it i said that i wouldn't i said that i was the baker which i've always said always said was sure to make their voluntary action but that they haven't gotten any yet right that's what i like and mills was very well but mills mills just made the election mills probably knows how weak this is
39:24You see, Mills made it work fairly well with steel, and he's not really gotten into the guts of this problem, and he thinks it'll work in textiles.
39:32It's a different problem.
39:37Oh, yes.
39:39They have promised.
39:45They've kind of Mickey-moused, frankly, on attacking Mills yesterday.
39:52And I said, don't ask them back in here unless they're ready to attack Mills.
39:55We don't want anything to do with them.
39:57So they have now promised that if we take some action such as this, they will immediately come out with a strong statement in support of you and attacking Wilberville.
40:07That's what they have to do.
40:08Why, sure.
40:08They've got to carry some of the heat on this thing.
40:11What's the matter with him?
40:13Nothing.
40:14Okay.
40:15Well, the other thing I was going to ask you is if you're going to tell a secret about him.
40:21I saw this statement on CBS.
40:24It was called, I don't know, Fletcher's Postal Department.
40:27I had her message on the bench.
40:30If he's against ABN, he doesn't get the job.
40:33He's not against ABN.
40:35This has got to be cleared up.
40:39What is it we're doing about this?
40:41I see this as bad business.
40:45And also saying that I didn't tell us about it.
40:48Nobody's even discussing it.
40:51Who put out such a goddamn story?
40:53Sure.
40:54Sure, at lunch three months ago before anyone talked to Fletcher, with Fletcher and three or four other presidents of universities.
41:05I have never in my life indicated a doubt on ABM.
41:07I've always been for it.
41:08That's what is wrong.
41:09We can indicate what his views are, but not mine.
41:12What I got?
41:14Fletcher was here for breakfast this morning.
41:16Got Ron to talk to Fletcher.
41:17He's talking to him, getting exactly what Fletcher said, and then putting the lie to shore on you're talking to Fletcher, you're having doubts, and on Fletcher having doubts.
41:28This means that I don't have doubts.
41:30Fletcher is.
41:31I realize all these times.
41:32Well, anyway, Fletcher denies it.
41:35Yes, sir.
41:36I know it there.
41:38He's a good, at least on my face, he's a good man.
41:40Incidentally, Casey 193.
41:41I saw the committee.
41:43I think it's a good report.
41:44Yes, I agree.
41:45I hope he does as well.
41:48I wish it was that.
41:50I hope he does as well and gets the full Senate, because the thought is he wants so.
41:54So the full committee will do all right when he gets it.
41:59One sidelight on the proxmire got a federal judge down here to testify against Casey on a case that he's been in, and apparently we had prime power in those fellows on the thing, and they just tore the federal judge apart.
42:10He didn't read it and reviewed the case for me.
51:15See if Mr. Price and Theo Cook

Nixon & Flanigan on Textile trade negotiations and Japan

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Also recorded on March 10, 1971

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