Litvinov Assignment of (1933)

An executive agreement made by President FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT as part of the arrangements by which the United States recognized the Soviet Union.

The Litvinov Assignment purported to transfer to the United States certain American assets located in Russia that had been previously nationalized by the Soviet Union. Accordingly, the United States went to court to establish its title to the assets. In the famous case of United States v. Pink, 315 U.S. 203, 62 S.Ct. 552, 86 L. Ed. 796 (1942), the Supreme Court upheld this title on the basis of the executive agreement. The Court saw the agreement as an integral part of the new recognition policy of the government and as a proper method of mitigating losses resulting from the nationalization of U.S. owned property in the Soviet Union. The Court held that the powers of the executive branch in the conduct of foreign policy were not herein restricted by the need for Senate consent.