In 1942, the loan leasing program expanded rapidly and freight volumes increased sharply. In December 1942, Lend-Leasing`s exports amounted to $607 million, the same as during the nine months of operation in 1941. When American troops entered combat posts abroad, our allies began to provide them with reverse loan assistance, without us paying for it. … Although most of the construction of common defence facilities, with the exception of the Alaska Highway and the Canol project, was completed by Canada, most of the initial costs were borne by the United States. The agreement was that all temporary work for the use of the U.S. armed forces and all permanent construction required by U.S. forces would be paid for by the United States beyond Canadian requirements and that the costs of all other constructions of sustainable value would be covered by Canada. While it was not entirely reasonable for Canada to pay for every construction that the Canadian government considered unnecessary or did not meet Canadian requirements, reflection on self-esteem and national sovereignty led the Canadian government to propose a new financial agreement. Instead, the United States would “lend” the deliveries to the British and defer payment.
If the payment eventually took place, the focus would not be on paying in dollars. The tensions and instabilities created by the war debt of the 1920s and 1930s had shown that it was unreasonable to expect bankrupt European nations to be able to pay for every item purchased in the United States. Instead, the payment would be mainly in the form of a “counterparty” granted by Great Britain to the United States. After months of negotiations, the United States and Great Britain agreed in Article VII of the Lend Lease Agreement they signed that this reflection would consist mainly of common measures to create a liberalized international economic order in the post-war world. The lend-leasing aid to the USSR was nominally managed by Szczeille. Roosevelt`s Soviet Protocol Committee was dominated by Harry Hopkins and General John York, who were quite sympathetic to the granting of “unconditional assistance.” Few Americans refused Soviet aid until 1943. [30] In practice, with the exception of some unarmed transport vessels, very little return has been achieved. Excess military equipment had no value in peacetime. Lease agreements with 30 countries do not provide for reimbursement in the form of money or returned goods, but by “common measures to create a liberalized international economic order in the post-war world.” It is the United States that would be “reimbursed” if the recipient fought against the common enemy and joined world and diplomatic trade organizations such as the United Nations.
[49] About 13 per cent of the loan assistance was made up of food and other agricultural products for allied workers and their soldiers on the front lines. In the first six months of 1944, loans exceeded $1.5 billion per month. With this help, the United Nations gained overwhelming superiority over the Nazis. The aid (combined with the efforts of our own armed forces) contributed to allied victories in Italy, France, the Netherlands, Russia and finally the Empire itself. The machines have been set up to meet requests for loan assistance from foreign governments and for the production of necessary items and services.
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