Office of the Historian

245. Memorandum From the Under Secretary of State (Ball) to President Kennedy0

Washington, March 29, 1962.

In replying to a question at your press conference this morning regarding the recent escape clause actions on glass and carpets,1 you justified the decisions, in part, by the problems of our own balance of payments.2

I think it might be preferable in dealing with questions such as this in the future if this justification were not employed. We have taken the position with the rest of the world that we are seeking solutions of our balance of payments through non-restrictive measures. For that reason we are asking the cooperation of other nations in expanding our exports and developing international trade. We have been urging with some success that other countries follow lines of policy similar to ours.

To the extent that we justify restrictive actions, such as tariff increases, on balance of payments grounds we impair the effectiveness of our position. These actions should continue to be defended, it seems to me, with the argument that imports were exacerbating already serious unemployment in the affected industries. This is the basis on which I shall explain the tariff actions to the Europeans while I am in Europe during the next few days.

George W. Ball3
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 411.006/3-2962. No classification marking.↩
  2. On March 19, President Kennedy signed Proclamations 3454 and 3455 increasing the duties on woven carpets and sheet glass, effective after the close of business April 18. On March 27, he issued Proclamation 3458 delaying the effective date of these proclamations until June 17. A summary is in Department of State Bulletin, April 16, 1962, pp. 649-650.↩
  3. At his March 29 press conference, President Kennedy recognized that his decision to raise tariffs on glass and carpets would burden foreign producers. He argued however, “our unemployment is substantially greater than theirs, their balance of payments situation is substantially better than ours—in the case of Belgium, they’ve been adding gold rather than losing it, their unemployment rate is half of ours.” (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1962, p. 277)↩
  4. Printed from a copy that indicates that Ball signed the original.↩