While the peace treaty credits were originally seen as a one-time payment, U.S. officials quickly realized that Egypt’s needs would require much more financing over a longer period of time. Cash flow financing was seen as a way to allow Egypt to order larger quantities of equipment in the early years of its relationship with the United States. Without cash flow, Egypt could only order equipment with a total price of $1.5 billion. Under cash flow authorization, Egypt placed orders totaling $3.5 billion over the same time period.