Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988, Volume XXXVIII, International Economic Development; International Debt; Foreign Assistance

59. Memorandum From Henry Nau of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Allen)¹

Washington, October 8, 1981

SUBJECT

• Cancun Meeting with the President Thursday, October 8, 3:00 p.m.²

Haig would like to get past Cancun without the President rejecting Global Negotiations (GNs) or defining an alternative to GNs, such as an international conference on growth. Once past Cancun, he knows that he and Kirkpatrick will have primary control over the issue; White House interest will fade.

For the President to retain control of the issue, he must do two things:

1. Speak plainly at Cancun—In both options I or II, the United States rejects GNs.³ In option I we reject it explicitly; in option II we reject the LDC definition of it as a negotiating body with authority over the specialized agencies. Option II, however, is fuzzier, unless the President (and not someone else) spells out the conditions (including the need to conduct talks outside New York) and alternate agenda for a cooperative strategy for growth. By not mentioning GNs and defining an alternative, the President sets constraints on future State Department policy. Haig will argue that the President should leave this to the technicians.

2. Ask Haig to prepare a detailed strategy by early next week indicating how the State Department plans to work the United States out of its present isolation toward agreement on a cooperative strategy for growth (i.e., the U.S. concept of the global dialogue). This strategy should include:

a. urgent, high-level contacts with key LDCs—go to LDCs first, outflank our allied interlocutors;

b. key allies to be persuaded;⁴

c. minimum number of governments agreeing to our conditions before we resume active discussions, preferably outside New York;

d. agreement to formal coordination among a select group of industrial and developing countries (perhaps a Cancun caucus that would cut across North-South lines and ensure a different kind of dialogue);

e. formal review with the President before any decision is made to actually convene an international conference on growth.

1. Source: Reagan Library, Douglas McMinn Files, Economic Summit Files, Mexico—Policy. No classification marking. Sent for information. Sent through Bailey.
2. According to the President’s Daily Diary, Reagan met with the Cancun planning group on October 8 from 3:40 to 5:02 p.m. (Reagan Library) Minutes for this meeting were not found.
3. A paper outlining three options for the Cancun Summit and Global Negotiations is in the Reagan Library, Douglas McMinn Files, Economic Summit Files, Mexico—Policy.
4. Nau added “and how” at the end of this point.