23. Editorial Note
Under cover of a memorandum to President Kennedy, April 5, 1963, Secretary of the Treasury Dillon submitted a 31-page report prepared by the Cabinet Committee on Balance of Payments, which reexamined the problem of balance of payments. (Kennedy Library, President’s Office Files, Treasury, Balance of Payments) Kaysen summarized this report in an April 6 memorandum to the President. (Ibid., National Security Files, Subjects Series, Balance of Payments and Gold) In a memorandum to the Cabinet Committee on Balance of Payments, April 10, President Kennedy announced a meeting on Thursday, April 18, at 10 a.m. to discuss thoroughly the alternative proposals for further actions to reduce or finance the anticipated balance-of-payments deficit over the next 2 years. He proposed that those who had put forward proposals on which there was not general agreement should be prepared to explain and defend them at the meeting, and he indicated specific items that the Department of State, Council of Economic Advisers, and Department of the Treasury should be prepared to discuss. He also indicated he was ready to explore other options raised in the Cabinet Committee’s report. (Ibid.)
For a record of the April 18 meeting, see Document 24.