the US negotiating position. The representatives of the US agencies concerned
appeared to be united in their opposition to a high-price support function for the
proposed reserve, which would amount to an international subsidy for protective
high-cost agricultural markets, such as that of the EEC. The Australian and Cana-
dian delegates made some supportive comments. Delegates from the developing
countries showed interest in what assistance might be available to them in main-
taining reserves. The Japanese evinced interest in assistance in supply. The Soviet
delegation was non-committal but `unfriendly'. The Chinese, not members of the
IWC, did not attend the discussions, adding to the presumption that they would
not be interested in joining the proposed system. The sharpest questioning came
from the EEC representative. While the proposal evoked much interest, the many
reservations raised by the country representatives at the IWC resulted in that it
failed to gain approval.