ABSTRACT
The outbreak of war in Europe reshaped the structure of the international tin market and the ITC had to respond immediately with both instruments at its disposal, the buffer stock and production quotas. Two other issues were soon added to its agenda. The United States was now anxious to end its dependence on that market and that meant direct negotiations both with Bolivia and the ITC. Since any reshaping of the structure of the industry under wartime conditions spelt a potential repetition of the dislocation that followed in the aftermath of World War I, it was imperative to see a renewal of the overall agreement. At least there would be some machinery in place to cope with the anticipated postwar depression. War would not suspend the politics of tin but simply give them a fresh inflexion.
