Business & Finance: Obstacle Removed

Harry Truman, who had defied one lobby by refusing to raise the tariff on Swiss watches (TIME, Aug. 25), last week defied another. Despite the protests of 13,000 independent U.S. oil producers, he approved a slash of as much as 50% in import duties on Venezuelan oil (e.g., from 10½¢ to 5¼¢ on “low gravity” oil), and abolished all import quotas.

The President had some solid facts to support his decision. For one thing, Venezuela is one of the U.S.’s biggest customers. In 1950, when it sold only $288 million worth of its oil to the U.S., it bought $388 million worth of U.S. goods—and paid hard cash. Beyond that, Truman’s own Materials Policy Commission (TIME, June 30) has warned that the U.S., which already must rely on some foreign oil to meet its growing needs, “should welcome crude-oil imports, not place obstacles in their way.”

To this the big U.S. oil companies, which own the lion’s share of Venezuelan concessions, had said a fervent amen. They had warned the U.S. that unless the tariff was removed or sharply cut, Venezuela might drive the U.S. companies out. Ironically, the President found himself agreeing with the same companies his Administration had just indicted (TIME, Sept. 1) as a wicked oil cartel.