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Rubber for Rice. Three non-Communist nations resist U.S. pressure. Egyptian cotton deliveries to Chinese Communist ports doubled in the past year; Pakistan's jumped from $45 million in 1951 to $54 million in the first six months of 1952. Most alarming of all, Ceylon, a member of the British Commonwealth, recently signed a five-year agreement to send 250,000 tons of rubber to the Red mainland. The U.S. had offered to buy the rubber at prevailing world prices, but the Ceylonese demanded an extra $50 million U.S. aid (in addition to the purchase price) as a condition of the sale. Washington demurred, and Peking closed the deal by increasing its price 40% and offering part-payment in rice. Last week the Polish freighter Mickiewicz sailed from Colombo with 5,600 tons of rubber for delivery to Shanghai. Presumably, a U.S. naval blockade of the Chinese coast would put a stop to the voyages of the Wiima and the Mickiewicz.
