Amtorg Trading Corporation, established in 1924 and based in New York, was the Soviet Union's official agency for trade with the United States. It was later discovered that Amtorg also served as a front for Soviet espionage. In its capacity as a trade agency, Amtorg acted as a liaison between Ford Motor Company and Autostroy, the Soviet body in charge of automotive plant construction (and along with it, its governing agency, the Supreme Economic Council). Ford Motor Company was involved with Amtorg from the 1920s through the 1930s. In 1929, the Soviets signed a contract with Ford Motor Company, in hopes not only of providing the USSR with automobiles, trucks, and tractors, but also of gaining the means to manufacture them as well (and on Ford's part, of establishing and expanding service and manufacturing operations for Ford products in the Soviet Union). A part of the agreement involved employee exchanges between and Soviet automobile plants and Ford plants in the United States as an opportunity for Soviet workers to learn American production methods. Difficulties in communication, cost overruns, delays, contract disputes, and the like plagued Ford and Amtorg throughout their association, and their business relationship ended in 1938.
From the description of Amtorg Trading Corporation records series, 1928-1938. (The Henry Ford). WorldCat record id: 159957460
