File scanned from the National Security Adviser's Memoranda of Conversation Collection at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
SECRET/NODIS
(Draft prepared from notes taken by Mr. Sonnenfeldt but not yet reviewed by him.)
| MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION | Date: | July 30, 1975 |
| Time: | 8:05 a.m. | |
| Place: | Helsinki |
PARTICIPANTS:
UK
Harold Wilson, Prime Minister
James Callaghan, Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs
US
Gerald R. Ford, President
Henry A. Kissinger, Secretary of State
Helmut Sonnenfeldt, Counselor
Ford: Congratulation on the Referendum vote.
Wilson: The timing was good. We couldn't have gotten that vote earlier. We played it cool, acted as though we had to be convinced and only pulled out the stops at the end.
Ford: The polls were accurate.
Callaghan: The next problem is unemployment.
Wilson: It now stands at one and a half million.
Ford: Our economists agree that American unemployment has peaked and will drop. The unemployment level is now pretty stable at 8.9-9%. Allowing, however, for seasonal adjustment, unemployment dropped between 400,000 to 600,000, a substantial drop.
Wilson: Your productivity indexes are up.
Ford: The combined index is up 1.7%. This is less than we would like but it is still up and encouraging.
Callaghan: How was your harvest?
Ford: We expect 200 million tons of wheat and 61 or 62 million tons of corn. The growing season is still on but everything looks very good.
SECRET/NODIS
