287. Letter From the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations (Herter) to the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)1
Dear Mac:
I should have written to you long ago to thank you not only for the light reading which you and Mary sent me, but also for your kind tolerance of my long absence.
As of now, I am alive by miracle and ought to be as good as new by early autumn. Fortunately, the whole so-called Kennedy Round has been in the doldrums, so that I do not feel that my absence has been too important. However, as you know, my resignation is always in the President’s hands, so that if at any time he wished to fill the job with someone else, I would quite understand.
It is becoming clearer every day that French agricultural policy and the curious foibles of Le Grande Charles make it more and more doubtful as to whether any meaningful Kennedy Round can be achieved prior to the expiration of the Trade Expansion Act. This being the case, I hate to see President Kennedy’s name attached to an extraordinarily worthwhile effort which seemed to have petered out. It was Erhard who was most insistent on Kennedy’s name being maintained in connection with the negotiations. Perhaps thinking about this matter should be postponed until after the general elections.
I have been talking to Bill Roth about the possibility of your wanting a real blast taken against Le Grande Charles at some particular time. It could, of course, be done with full justification from myself and my office. Do keep this in mind. For the moment, I agree that we should be greeting his efforts to dominate or destroy the Common Market with sad silence.
Best, to you, as always, and hoping to catch a glimpse of you if you can spare the time should you be coming up here some week-end.
As ever,