James Giffen

James Henry Giffen (March 22, 1941 – October 29, 2022) was an American businessman and an authority on American-Soviet trade. He was the founder and chairman of Mercator Corporation.

Background Giffen was born in Stockton, California, on March 22, 1941. He had ties to the USSR dating back to the 1970s. After graduating from college, he worked for a subsidiary of Armco Steel, developing a relationship with Armco boss and future US commerce secretary C. William Verity, Jr. During the Cold War, Giffen was instrumental in setting up the multi-company American Trade Consortium (including large corporations such as RJR Nabisco, Chevron, Eastman Kodak, Johnson & Johnson and Archer Daniels Midland) to negotiate entry into the Soviet market with representatives of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Kazakhgate trial In the Kazakhgate trial, Giffen asserted that he was acting with the approval of the Central Intelligence Agency, which refused to release secret papers relating to these activities. His defense said Giffen had merely been following orders from the Kazakh government, which as a foreign state had the right to define legality according to its own views, and serving the interests of the United States.

Giffen eventually pleaded guilty to a tax misdemeanor and paid $25; the other charges, which could have carried a penalty of several decades in prison, were dropped.

Fictional Portrayal The character Danny Dalton from 2005 film Syriana, played by Tim Blake Nelson, was loosely based on James Giffen.

Publications Books The Legal and Practical Aspects of Trade with the Soviet Union. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc. (1969). Introduction by U.S. Senator Walter F. Mondale. Articles "Developing a Market Program for the U.S.S.R." Columbia Journal of World Business, vol. 8, no. 4 (Winter 1973), pp. 61–68. . "US-Soviet Trade: Political Realities and Future Potential," with Michael V. Forrestal. Columbia Journal of World Business, vol. 18, no. 4 (Winter 1983), pp. 29–35. .