253. Letter From President Kennedy to Christian A. Herter0

Dear Mr. Secretary: In requesting that you accept the responsibility of serving as Special Representative for Trade Negotiations,1 I believe it appropriate that I indicate to you the importance with which I view this assignment, the scope of the task, and the goals toward which our efforts should be directed.

As you know, I accorded to the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 the high priority, the non-partisan support, and the unqualified commitment which must be provided legislation which affects the vital security interests of the United States both here and abroad. I requested and received authority from the Congress not only to pursue agreements on trade and tariffs which would accommodate our national needs for expanding markets and thereby contribute to our economic strength and growth, but also to create entirely new reciprocal trading arrangements which would measurably contribute to the economic, political and military strength and solidarity of the free world. Notable among these broader purposes is the determination to build a more closely-knit Atlantic Community, to accord to other industrialized countries outside the Common Market such as Japan and Canada a role in world trade commensurate to their importance as partners in the struggle with world communism, and to afford the less-developed countries the consideration and access to markets and sources of supply which will hasten their development under circumstances of free choice. Thus, the importance of this task and the scope of interest and endeavor of the Special Representative transcends the particulars of negotiations on trade and tariff matters. This work goes to the very heart of the many policies and programs, domestic and foreign, which will help to shape the world environment in which the United States must maintain initiative, command respect, and provide leadership.

Accordingly, I shall look to the Special Representative to advise and assist me directly in helping to shape our international trade and economic policies as well as spearheading the major negotiating effort abroad which lies ahead.

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To this end, the Special Representative will necessarily be accorded a central role in the formulation of trade policy. He will chair the new Cabinet-level interdepartmental committee which will replace the present Trade Policy Committee. He will be directly responsible for preparing the proposed objectives and strategies for negotiations and for directing those negotiations while they are in process. In a broader sense he will become, along with the Secretaries of State and Commerce, one of the top policy officials of the U.S. Government in shaping and achieving our international objectives in the commercial, trade, and economic fields.

I am confident that we fully agree on the broad purposes and goals sought in this program; that we fully share the sense of urgency and determination with which this effort must be pursued; and that we appreciate the magnitude and difficulty of the task. It is on this basis that I have sought to enlist your efforts to the historic task which presents such opportunity and challenge for our country.

Sincerely yours,

John F. Kennedy
  1. Source: Kennedy Library, Herter Papers, Herter Appointment. No classification marking. The date is handwritten on the source text as the date the letter was received.
  2. Chapter 5, Section 241 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 confers on the President the authority to appoint individuals to this position. The law specifies that the Special Trade Representative’s primary responsibility is to “seek information and advice with respect to each negotiation from representatives of industry, agriculture, and labor, and from such agencies as he deems appropriate.” (American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1962, p. 1390)