Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Western Europe and Canada, Volume VI, Part 1

CFM lot M 88, box 169, “Churchill–Eden Visit”

No. 482
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Merchant) of a Meeting of President Eisenhower and Prime Minister Churchill at the White House, June 29, 1954, 11 a.m.¹

top secret
CEV MC–8

Washington, June 29, 1954, 11 a.m.

Participants:

• The President
• Prime Minister Churchill
• Secretary Dulles
• Mr. Eden
• Ambassador Makins
• Sir Harold Caccia
• Mr. Bowie
• Mr. Merchant

[Here follows a list of subjects discussed.]

The meeting was primarily concerned with the final drafting changes of the declaration subsequently signed and issued by the President and the Prime Minister.² Mr. Churchill made available the cable he had received overnight from the Cabinet in which the only point of substance raised was the reference to “self determination”. After a little discussion the President accepted Sir Winston’s proposed change in the phrase to refer only to “self government”.

Mr. Eden raised with Mr. Churchill the suggestion made by Mr. Dulles that Thorneycroft come over to Washington this week-end to discuss East-West trade problems with Governor Stassen.³ The Prime Minister approved this recommendation and the President telephoned Mr. Stassen to inform him of this approval and to say the British would issue an announcement on the subject from London.

It was confirmed by Mr. Eden that the Prime Minister had now approved the agreed minutes on Egypt, Germany and the establishment of a working group on Southeast Asian matters.⁴ He also said that they approved the joint instructions to the British and American Ambassadors in Paris in the revised form worked out the afternoon before.⁵

During the course of the meeting Mr. Eden requested the Secretary’s assistance in the matter of releasing certain blocked dollar balances of British firms in China desirous of closing down and bringing their British personnel home. He said that this required a special Treasury license which he understood had from time to time been granted to American firms in a similar predicament. Secretary Dulles said that he had no knowledge of this matter but that he would look into it and see what if anything could be done.

1. Churchillarrived at 11 a.m. and he and the President were joined by the others around 11:30; for another account of this conversation, see the entry from Hagerty’s diary, infra.
2. Document 488.
3. This suggestion was made at the meeting in Dulles’ office earlier that morning; see CEV MC–7, supra.
4. See Documents 484–486.
5. See Document 487.