851.51/2–2546
The Ambassador in France (Caffery) to the Secretary of
State
secret
No. 4548
Paris, February 25, 1946.
[Received
February 28.]
The Ambassador has the honor to enclose for the Department’s records
a copy of an informal memorandum which was prepared by
[Page 417]
this Embassy on the
forthcoming economic conversations which Mr. Léon Blum will initiate
in Washington. This memorandum was based principally on the final
paragraphs of the Department’s telegram no. 573 of February 4, 7:00
p.m. Copies were furnished Mr. Blum and a member of the Foreign
Office who will be in the Blum party.
The observations which this memorandum elicited in the Foreign Office
were reported in this Embassy’s telegram no. 892 of February
24.33
[Enclosure—Memorandum]
confidential
[Paris,] February 22, 1946.
The policy of the United States in relation to the problems of
French economic rehabilitation might be recapitulated as
follows:
- I—The United States Government is following
sympathetically the plans being developed and the
measures already taken by the French Government aiming
toward the solution of France’s financial and economic
problems. The United States Government is anxious to
lend all appropriate aid, consistent with its capable in
developing a sound program of reconstruction in
France.
- II—The joint examination of the financial needs for
the execution of such a program will necessarily entail
the exploration of certain basic factors, more
particularly these:
- (a)
- French foreign exchange resources and
prospective balance of payments.
- (b)
- Unilateral measures available to France to
attract foreign capital, to recover its tourist
trade, and to revive export industries.
- (c)
- Use of existing American credits.
- (d)
- Planned recourse to the International Bank for
long term reconstruction needs. The United States
Government, the largest subscriber to the
International Bank (involving therefore floating
in the United States the larger part of the
securities issued or guaranteed by the Bank)
regards this institution as the proper and
principal center for financing large scale
reconstruction projects.
- (e)
- The interim need for further Export-Import
Bank financing until the International Bank’s
resources become available.
