Office of the Historian

72. Minutes of the 49th Meeting of the Council on Foreign Economic Policy, Executive Office Building, Washington, November 20, 19561

Washington, November 20, 1956

PRESENT

  • Clarence B. Randall, Special Assistant to the President—Chairman
  • Thorsten V. Kalijarvi, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of State
  • George M. Humphrey, Secretary of the Treasury
  • Harold C. McClellan, Assistant Secretary of Commerce
  • Earl L. Butz, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture
  • John B. Hollister, Director, International Cooperation Administration
  • Wakeman B. Thorp, Chief, Office of Special Projects (ISA), Department of Defense
  • Victor E. Cooley, Deputy Director, Office of Defense Mobilization
  • Leo R. Werts, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor
  • Percival F. Brundage, Director, Bureau of the Budget
  • Felix E. Wormser, Assistant Secretary of the Interior
  • William H. Jackson, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
  • Joseph S. Davis, Member, Council of Economic Advisers
  • Gabriel Hauge, Special Assistant to the President
  • Clarence Francis, Special Consultant to the President
  • Paul H. Cullen, Secretary, Council on Foreign Economic Policy and their assistants.

I. The Council approved the minutes of October 4, 1956.

II. CFEP 542—Reappraisal of P.L. 480.

1.
The Council agreed on an Administration position with respect to the renewal of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (P.L. 480). This action was based on a consideration of CFEP 542/1, distributed to Council members on November 13, 1956. The position adopted by the Council was:
a.
That Title I of P.L. 480 be extended to June 30, 1958 with an added authorization of $1 billion.
b.
That Title II be extended to June 30, 1958 with the authorization restored to $500 million.
c.
That Title III be continued except for Section 304.
d.
That in submitting this recommendation to the Congress, the President should advise the Congress of his conviction that local currency sales and barter should be regarded as temporary expedients, and of his opposition to permanent status for the legislation because of its conflict both with the Administration’s foreign trade policy and the Administration’s desire to further the removal of Government from business.
2.
The Council also requested Mr. Clarence Francis, Special Consultant to the President, and Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz to undertake a study of alternative measures for the disposal of agricultural surpluses.

[Here follows consideration of the effect of regional economic integration on United States trade.]

Paul H. Cullen
Lt. Col, USA
  1. Source: Eisenhower Library, CFEP Records. Official Use Only.↩