91. National Security Action Memorandum No. 220

In the wake of our discussions last week with the Germans and the British,1 I hope we can press on as a matter of high priority the development [Page 199] of formulas for fair sharing in both foreign aid and military partnership, with our European allies, as well as with arrangements that will ease the balance of payments problem of the United States and other deficit countries. We need to make rapid progress with these ideas in order to prepare the way for our efforts on behalf of foreign aid in Congress and with our own people.

I know that George Ball has been making good progress in this area, and all I am saying is that I hope he will keep it up as a matter of urgency.

JFK2
  1. Source: Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Meetings and Memoranda Series, NSAM No. 22. No classification marking.
  2. German Foreign Minister Heinrich von Brentano visited Washington February 16-19. For memorandum of Brentano’s conversation with President Kennedy on February 17, vol. XIV, pp. 811. On February 16, Edwin M. Martin and Sir Denis Rickett, Second Secretary of the British Treasury, discussed plans for the upcoming March meeting of the Development Assistance Group in London. (Memorandum of conversation, February 16; Department of State, Central Files, 398.00-WA/2-1661)
  3. Kennedy’s initials appear in an unidentified hand, indicating Kennedy signed the original.