Red Offensive

The Russians' campaign to capture more Western markets brought some cries of alarm last week. For many years Britain has bought 80% of its aluminum supply from Aluminum Co. of Canada, Ltd. Currently, British demand is drastically down, and Alcan's British market has dropped from 205,000 tons in 1956 to 153,000 tons last year. At the same time, Russian aluminum exports to Britain have soared from 197 tons in 1956 to an annual rate of 23,000 tons. Reason: Red aluminum sells for $510 a ton v. the Canadian price of $552.

Last week Alcan revealed that it began granting a 2% "loyalty" discount to British buyers three months ago, has asked the British Board of Trade to impose an anti-dumping duty on Red imports. Just as alarmed by heavy imports of cheaper Russian ferroalloys, Union Carbide, Ltd. is pondering a similar bid to the board.

While competing harder in Britain, the Reds are also wooing British businessmen with orders as part of their campaign to get the embargo on East-West trade eased. In London last week a Soviet trade mission announced one of its biggest catches to date. With Rustyfa, a combine of British companies, the Russians placed an equipment order of between $28 million and $42 million for one of the biggest tire factories outside the U.S. To be built at Dnepropetrovsk in the Ukraine, the plant will turn out 2,000,000 tires a year.

In Turkey last week U.S. buyers of the new tobacco crop found their hard-cash deals being squeezed by satellite countries. Americans buy at the official rate of 2.8 liras to the dollar. The Communists pay in barter deals at a rate of 14 to 15 liras to the dollar--covering the cost by boosting prices of their goods. Much of the Red-bought tobacco does not go to satellite citizens, but is eventually sold in the U.S. for dollars. Since U.S. companies have recently found a better, cheaper tobacco in Greece, they are not worried by Red competition in Turkey. But the Turks are losing badly needed dollars, which the Communists are getting instead.

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