Not a Pfennig

Many NATO diplomats are somewhat dismayed by West German Finance Minister Helmut Schmidt's views on helping to pay U.S. troop costs in Europe. Schmidt's position: "Not a pfennig."

The biennial negotiations on new terms for the U.S.-West German offset agreements are to start within a matter of weeks, since the current agreement expires at the end of June. According to one reliable diplomatic source, Schmidt has been in " an unusually arrogant mood." In what may or or may not be a negotiating tactic, he told other officials that congressional sentiment in favor of the Mansfield amendment to reduce troops does not matter, that Nixon has pledged to keep all troops in Europe, and will do so even if the Germans refuse all payments. "He's got to keep his word, otherwise he undermines the Western Alliance," Schmidt was quoted as saying. "What matters is what Nixon knows, not what Congress says."

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