Office of the Historian

128. Minutes of the 45th Meeting of the Council on Foreign Economic Policy, Executive Office Building, Washington, July 31, 19561

Washington, July 31, 1956

PRESENT

  • Clarence B. Randall, Special Assistant to the President—Chairman
  • Herbert V. Prochnow, Deputy Under Secretary of State
  • Sinclair Weeks, Secretary of Commerce
  • True D. Morse, Under Secretary of Agriculture
  • Dennis A. FitzGerald, Deputy Director, International Cooperation Admn.
  • Gordon Gray, Assistant Secretary of Defense
  • Arthur S. Flemming, Director, Office of Defense Mobilization
  • Percival F. Brundage, Director, Bureau of the Budget
  • James S. Lay, Jr., Executive Secretary, National Security Council
  • Gabriel Hauge, Administrative Assistant to the President
  • William H. Jackson, Special Assistant to the President
  • Raymond J. Saulnier, Member, Council of Economic Advisers
  • Felix E. Wormser, Assistant Secretary of the Interior
  • Paul H. Cullen, Secretary, Council on Foreign Economic Policy, and their assistants
1.
The Council approved the minutes of May 16 as corrected.
2.
The Council approved the minutes of May 31 as corrected.

3. CFEP 501—East-West Trade.

The Council considered the report and recommendations of the Steering Committee concerning the revision of U.S. economic defense policy (NSC 152/3 and paragraph 7c of NSC 5429/5) outlined in CFEP 501/11, dated July 23, 1956.

The Council agreed that:

(1)
Existing controls and policies (NSC 152/3 and paragraph 7c of NSC 5429/5) should be continued for the present, subject to such interim policy guidance as may be necessary.
(2)
The Steering Committee’s proposed policy revision of July 1955 should be withdrawn in view of the changed situation since July 1955 (no formal action on withdrawal is necessary).
(3)
The Economic Defense Advisory Committee (EDAC) be requested to review NSC 152/3 and paragraph 7c of NSC 5429/5 in the light of current developments and to submit recommendations for an appropriate policy statement as soon as practicable and in no event later than October 31, 1956.
(4)
EDAC be further requested to prepare recommendations for policy changes in the event that the Council should later determine that the maintenance of the multilateral control structure and the preservation of free world unity should require further relaxation in international trade controls, especially toward Communist China.
(5)
EDAC be requested to keep the Council advised of the progress it is making on this assignment through biweekly progress reports.2

[Here follows discussion of unrelated subjects,]

  1. Source: Eisenhower Library, CFEP Records. Secret.↩
  2. On August 3, Paul Cullen informed James Lay of the action taken by the CFEP at this meeting. On August 7, Lay forwarded Cullen’s memorandum to the NSC. (Department of State, S/S–NSC Files: Lot 62 D 1, Communist China: Multilateral Export Controls on Trade with)↩