Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Council of Foreign Ministers, Volume II

C.F.M. Files: Lot M–88: Box 2079: CFM Documents

Seventh Report of the Committee of Economic Experts to the Council of Foreign Ministers⁵³

secret
CFM(46)(NY)61

New York, December 7, 1946.

Peace Treaty With Italy

question of financial assistance required by the free territory of trieste

The Committee of Economic Experts has considered the question of whether the Free Territory of Trieste would require financial assistance during the six months following the coming into force of the Treaty.

The U.K. and U.S.A. representatives felt that, in the light of the experience of the Military Government (See annexed statement)⁵⁴ and of the facts generally known with respect to the economic position of Trieste, it could be expected that the Free Territory would be faced with a substantial financial problem during the early months of its existence which would require some form of external assistance.

The French and U.S.S.R. representatives felt that the information before the Committee did not permit them to reach any conclusion as to the question, and the fact that the AMG had to face a deficit was not in itself conclusive as to whether there would be a deficit in the future.

All members of the Committee agreed that the information at hand was not sufficient to permit a forecast of governmental revenues and expenditures or of the balance of payments for any period of the immediate future.

The Committee agreed that a detailed study of the financial prospects for the Free Territory of Trieste during the initial six months of its existence would require at least a month.

53. This Report was considered by the Council of Foreign Ministers at its 21st Meeting, December 11, 1946; see the United States Delegation Minutes and the Record of Decisions of that meeting, pp. 1509 and 1517.
54. The Annex is not printed; it reported upon revenues and expenditures by Allied Military Government in Zone A of Venezia Giulia in 1945 and 1946.