92. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, June 4, 1957, 5 p.m.1
PARTICIPANTS
- Secretary of State Dulles
- Secretary of Commerce Weeks
- Assistant Secretary of Commerce McClellan
- Under Secretary of State Herter
- Deputy Under Secretary of State Dillon (for latter part of meeting)
Secretary Weeks opened the conference by stating that he had made a review of the situation on the Hill with respect to the ratification of the OTC and had found things in bad shape. Congressman Jere Cooper, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, had told Mr. Weeks that he was unwilling to ask the Committee to report the ratification instrument out unless a majority of Republican members of the Committee were willing to vote for it. A count taken by Mr. Weeks indicated that not more than four Republicans would be willing to vote in favor and that there was some doubt in the minds of one or two of these four.
Mr. Weeks went on to explain that antagonism to the OTC in itself was not the major consideration. The real question involved was whether or not next year the Congress would renew HR–1, the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act. Mr. Weeks said that he had talked to Congressman Simpson of Pennsylvania who seemed to be the key Republican on the Committee with regard to the Reciprocal Trade [Page 244] Agreements and Simpson had explained to him that the unpopularity was due to two causes: (1) the feeling that in the administration of the Act the Department of State had too large a voice and that consequently the plight of some industries in the U.S. when weighed against international considerations were not given sufficient importance; and (2) in the fifteen times when the Tariff Commission had recommended protective action for American industry, the President had approved only four times and rejected the recommendations on eleven occasions.
Mr. Weeks then explained that he felt that only some advance agreement with Mr. Simpson and his colleagues in regard to the set up of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act for next year could save the OTC as well as the Act itself. Such a trade might include changes in the administration of the Act which would give the Department of Commerce a larger voice in the recommendations, a stricter adherence by the President of the Tariff Commission’s recommendations, and a more precise definition with respect to the determining of “injury” to U.S. business interests.
Secretary Weeks then asked if Secretary Dulles cared to comment on this situation. The Secretary stated that he was deeply disappointed that the exporters from the U.S. whose total volume of exports reached four times the proportion of dutiable imports were not more vocal in supporting the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act. The figures on the trend of our whole foreign trade position favored the continuing increase in foreign trade with very important export markets, but that generally speaking little support had been received from this source. He also stated that generally speaking foreign nations preferred a fixed quota rather than tariff increases because the former allowed them at least to count on a definite proportion of our market whereas the latter, in order to be really effective, was likely to shut them out entirely. Before the end of the discussion, the Secretary had to leave the conference and Deputy Under Secretary Dillon had joined the group. Secretary Weeks and Assistant Secretary McClellan were asked to reduce their suggestions for a possible trade into very specific terms so that we might have an opportunity of examining them.
Addendum
Since this meeting, Clarence Randall called Under Secretary Herter and stated that he had heard of the discussion. He likewise said that he had discussed this same matter with Secretary Weeks and had made the same recommendation, namely, that the suggested agreement with Congressman Simpson should be outlined in detail before further discussion. Mr. Randall did, however, indicate that he [Page 245] thought perhaps some trade would be necessary if both the OTC this year and the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act next year were to be saved.
- Source: Eisenhower Library, Herter Papers, Miscellaneous Memoranda. Confidential. Drafted by Herter.↩