Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XIII, Western Europe Region

284. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Germany¹

Washington, January 16, 1968, 0108Z.

99062. BUSEC. Refs: Bonn 6824; Brussels 3892; London 5390.² Subj: UK–6.

1. It is not clear to us from reftels whether German Government is still in fact actively advocating association arrangement for the UK.

2. We believe it important to make clear to the Germans informally and discreetly that an arrangement for the UK which does not in fact envisage full membership by specific date in the near future would cause us serious problems. An open-ended association arrangement for the UK with no guarantee of membership would be a free trade area discriminating against American exports without the compensating benefits of furthering greater political unification in Europe which we continue favor. Such discriminatory arrangements would be especially difficult for the Administration at this time when protectionist sentiment is rampant in Congress and our balance of payments is in the limelight of public attention.

3. We leave level of this informal representation to Embassy but would hope that U.S. position would be registered with Kiesinger and Brandt. Perhaps DCM-Lahr level would be appropriate.³

Rusk

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, EEC 6 UK. Secret; Exdis. Drafted by Katz, cleared by GER and BMI, and approved by Leddy. Repeated to brussels and London.
2. Telegram 6824 from Bonn, January 3, 1968, reported that during Under Secretary of State Katzenbach’s visit to Bonn, Brandt, Duckwitz, and Rolf Lahr had all proposed partial entry for the United Kingdom at present and half entry later. Katzenbach carefully avoided any support for this idea. (Ibid.) Telegram 3892 from Brussels has not been found. Telegram 5390 from London reported on a meeting in Bonn between British and German officials on the next steps regarding British entry into the EC. (Ibid.)
3. On January 20, the Embassy reported that these views had been made known to Lahr who replied that he was aware of them, but insisted that something needed to be done to keep the British application moving. (Telegram 7473 from Bonn; ibid.)