Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1945, European Advisory Commission, Austria, Germany, Volume III

Department of the Army Files

The Joint Chiefs of Staff to the United States Military Governor for Germany (McNarney)^16a

Washington, 24 November 1945.

War 85123. Wark 82652¹⁷ refers.

1. Quadripartite arrangements governing exports from and imports into Germany in accordance with agreements reached at Potsdam should be agreed upon and put into effect at the earliest possible date.

2. Pending quadripartite agreement with respect to the arrangements governing German imports and exports, you will:

a. Make available to each of the other Zone Commanders in Germany information with respect to indigenous resources available in your respective Zones of Occupation, import requirements and actual imports into such zones, export from such zones, and such other information as may be pertinent in order that common standards of living throughout Germany may be obtained, equitable distribution of essential commodities among the Zones of Occupation may result, and imports necessary to carry out the aims of occupation may be minimized, requesting, but not requiring, that the other Zone Commander reciprocate with similar information.

b. Enter into arrangements with the U.K. Zone Commander, and, if possible, the French Zone Commander, and also, if possible, the Soviet Zone Commander, to the following effect:

1. Each Zone Commander shall determine the import requirements for his own zone on the basis of full utilization of indigenous resources, including maximum authorized production, and maximum possible interzonal exchange of surpluses.

2. All Zone Commanders participating in the arrangements shall establish machinery for joint screening and approval of zonal import requirements in order to insure that such requirements are calculated on as nearly a uniform basis as possible and that aggregate requirements approximate the net deficit of all zones involved.

3. After screening and approval, each Zone Commander shall submit to his Government the zonal import requirements agreed upon, together with available information concerning requirements for zones the commanders of which have not participated in the screening and approval arrangements, in order that his Government may be advised simultaneously of the aggregate imports for Germany as a whole and the zonal division thereof.

4. Exports from the respective zones out of current production or stocks, excluding interzonal transactions, shall be paid for in full by the recipients and the proceeds pooled to defray the costs of imports into Germany. Until termination of the present interim payment arrangements agreed within the Control Council on a quadripartite basis, Zone Commanders may, however, postpone immediate payment of a percentage, not exceeding 20% of the purchase price.

5. Exports from the respective zones, excluding interzonal transactions, will be made only to those recipients who are paying in accordance with (4) above for all exports from current production and stocks from any zone in Germany.

6. Prices for such exports from Germany shall be fixed on an individual commodity basis by agreement among the Zone Commanders in Germany participating in the arrangements.

7. All proceeds from exports shall be pooled and prorated among the occupying powers whose Zone Commanders participate in these arrangements in Germany in proportion to their contribution to the financing of German imports. The contribution of the occupying powers to the financing of German imports shall include not only their respective contribution to current imports approved in accordance with these arrangements, but also their respective outlay (and that of Canada) on imports provided to meet needs in Germany prior to the consummation of such arrangements. Pending agreements between the Zone Commanders participating in these arrangements as to the basis for recognizing contribution to past imports in the distribution of export proceeds, such proceeds shall as an interim measure be used in the first instance to defray the contribution of the occupying powers to current imports provided under such arrangements.

8. In order to facilitate this pooling and distribution of export proceeds, such proceeds shall so far as possible be collected in currencies required for the purposes of such distribution. In particular, sufficient US dollars or other freely convertible currencies shall be collected to meet the pro rata share of occupying powers whose outlay for imports has been made in free currencies. In special cases, however, justified by exceptional supply, transportation or other considerations, any Zone Commander may permit exports from his zone against payment in goods, the importation of which is to meet requirements approved under these arrangements, or in non-convertible currencies with which such goods may be currently acquired, reporting any such action to the other Zone Commanders participating in these arrangements. It is the intention that such transactions should not be entered into in cases where the importing country is able to pay in convertible currencies.

9. The above outlined arrangements shall continue in effect until the cost to the occupying powers whose Zone Commanders participate in the arrangements of imports into Germany shall have been fully met out of the proceeds of German exports; but this is to be without prejudice to quadripartite arrangements and adjustments which may subsequently be made.

3. Identical instructions are being transmitted to the UK Zone Commander in Germany.

1. The Joint Chiefs of Staff dispatched this telegram after receiving notice of Department of State approval, supplied by H. Freeman Matthews, Director, Office of European Affairs.
17. Not printed.