217. Memorandum From the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft) to President Ford1
At Henry’s request, I called Dorothy Fosdick in Senator Jackson’s office with respect to the Trade Bill. I told her that you had studied carefully Jackson’s proposal for handling the waiver/veto procedure, that you had decided that it was not practical, and that the procedure you had outlined to him in your last meeting should be adopted.2 On the exchange of letters, I told her that, following your discussions with the Leadership,3 you had determined that two letters rather than three would suffice.
Dorothy called me back to say that Jackson was outraged about what he considers a betrayal on the issue of the three letters. He considers that he had a firm understanding with Henry that there would be three letters and that that understanding had been implicitly confirmed in his meeting with you when there was no disagreement on the three-letter process. She said that Jackson’s initial reaction was that this terminated all efforts to get agreement and that he would have no choice but to proceed with Jackson–Vanik without a waiver, and that he had the votes. In addition, he would probably be compelled to go public with the details of how he had been “double-crossed.”
I have passed this information to Henry and he asked that I inform you right away.
- Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Kissinger–Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, Box 18, Jackson/Vanik Trade Bill. Confidential. A notation on the memorandum indicates Ford saw it.↩
- See Document 215.↩
- See Document 216.↩