C. Export Controls and Policy 640. REQUEST FOR AMENDMENT OF THE MUTUAL DEFENSE ASSISTANCE CONTROL ACT OF 1951 TO PERMIT REESTABLISHMENT OF THE "HISTORIC TIES OF FRIENDSHIP WITH THE PEOPLE OF EASTERN EUROPE": Letter From the President (Kennedy) to the President of the Senate (Johnson), February 21, 1961 1 DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: In the State of the Union address 2 I asked the Congress for increased discretion to use economic tools as an aid in reestablishing our historic ties of friendship with the people of Eastern Europe. I urge the Congress to take early action on legislation to accomplish this purpose. Such legislation-along the lines of the amendment to the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951 which was passed by the Senate on September 12, 1959-accompanies this letter. Sincerely, Honorable LYNDON B. JOHNSON President of the Senate United States Senate Washington, D.C. A BILL JOHN F. KENNEDY To amend the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 102 of title I of the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951 (22 U.S.C. 1611a) is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 102. Responsibility for giving effect to the purposes of this Act shall be vested in the Secretary of State or such other officer as the President may designate, hereinafter referred to as the 'Administrator'." SEC. 2. Section 303 of title III of the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951 (22 U.S.C. 1613b) is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 303. (a) This Act shall not be deemed to prohibit furnishing economic and financial assistance to any nation or area, except the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Communist-held areas of the Far East, whenever the President determines that such assistance is important to the security of the United States: Provided, That, after termination of assistance to any nation as provided in sections 103(b) and 203 of this Act, assistance shall be resumed to such nation only in accordance with section 104 of this Act. The President shall immediately report any determination made pursuant to this subsection with reasons therefor 1 White House press release dated Mar. 7, 1961 (text as printed in the Department of the State Bulletin, Mar. 27, 1961, pp. 444-445). An identical letter was sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The attached bill was amended and approved by the Senate, May 11, 1961, and was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, May 15. The House did not act on the bill. 2 Ante, doc. 4. Not acted on by the House of Representatives. For the text of the (Battle) Act, see American Foreign Policy, 1950–1955; Basic Documents, pp. 3101-3105. to the Committees on Foreign Relations, Appropriations, and Armed Services of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. "(b) The Administrator may, notwithstanding the requirements of the first proviso of section 103(b) of this Act, direct the continuance of assistance to a country which knowingly permits shipments of items other than arms, ammunition, implements of war, and atomic energy materials to any nation or area receiving economic or financial assistance pursuant to a determination made under section 303 (a) of this Act." ADMINISTRATION OF THE EXPORT CONTROL ACT OF 1949: Executive Order No. 10945, May 24, 1961 * 641. OPERATION OF THE EAST-WEST TRADE CONTROL PROGRAM DURING 1961: Fifteenth and Sixteenth Reports to Congress on Operations Under the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951 (the Battle Act), Submitted March 22, 1962, and December 4, 1963 (Excerpts) INTERNATIONAL LIST REVISIONS During the period October 1, 1960-April 15, 1961, the 15-nation Coordinating Committee on Export Controls (COCOM) conducted in Paris its annual International List review. This review, held under the procedure approved by the Consultative Group (CG) at its Paris meeting in July 1958, resulted in a modest net increase in the strategic value of the embargo list. It also produced a useful clarification of the kinds and types of materials, equipment, and technical data intended for embargo coverage in the light of advanced technology or short-supply factors in the Sino-Soviet bloc and their strategic significance to the bloc. The revisions to the International Lists went into effect on April 30, 1961. The primary purpose of the annual review is to keep the International Lists up to date by adjusting them to new technological and military developments in the Sino-Soviet bloc and the free world. These lists define strategic items over which the participating governments exercise control of exports to the Communist bloc. 26 Fed. Reg. 4487; the Department of State Bulletin, June 12, 1961, pp. 934– 935. For the text of the Export Control Act (Public Law 11, 81st Cong., approved Feb. 26, 1949; 63 Stat. 7), as amended, see 50 U.S.C. App. §§ 2021–2032. The Executive order placed responsibility for administration of the act solely with the Secretary of Commerce and established an Export Control Review Board (the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Commerce) to make recommendations on export license matters. The Battle Act in New Times: Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951-Fifteenth Report to Congress (Department of State publication 7230). pp. 1-2: The Battle Act Report, 1963: Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951-Sixteenth Report to Congress (Department of State publication 7406), pp. 45-46 and 52. "Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece. Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 7 See American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1958, p. 1505. Proposals regarding about 70 separate items were discussed during the 1960 COCOM list review. The scope and content of the proposals, the highly complicated technical nature of many of the items which increased the problem of reaching agreement on definitions, and certain differences of viewpoints among the member governments on the application of the embargo criteria to various items were largely responsible for the protracted negotiations. Operating under the COCOM unanimity rule, the participating countries agreed to revisions not only in the Embargo List (International List I), but also in the Watch List (International List IV) and the Munitions List. Items were added and deleted, retained without change, and substantively redefined. Some proposals failed to receive the necessary unanimous approval; others were deferred for later discussion. BATTLE ACT CHANGES The amendments to the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951 (Battle Act) Lists, reflecting the changes in the International Lists, were promulgated May 1, 1961.8 Six items were removed from the Title I, Category B List-drilling machines, broaching tools, nitric acid plants, rotary rock drill bits, molybdenum disulphide, and high octane blending agents. New items were added to Category B, providing coverage over ferritic materials, thermoelectric materials and devices, cryogenic equipment, and cryogenic devices. Two items were added and three deleted from the Title II List. IAE LIST REVIEW The delegates of the cooperating nations convened in Paris May 2-4, 1961, and approved revisions in the International Atomic Energy List. Amendments to the Battle Act Lists, framed in conformity with the IAE List adjustments, were promulgated June 30, the implementation date set by the Paris meeting. The changes in the Battle Act Lists included the deletion of items whose strategic importance was no longer valid; the addition of new items that had become strategic; revisions and clarifications of certain definitions; and the provision of administrative procedures for making minor shipments of certain atomic energy items. 8 See appendix C of the 15th report, pp. 11-15. For an explanation of the Battle Act lists, see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1956, pp. 1068-1070 and 1100-1105. PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATIONS MADE DURING 1961⚫ DEPARTMENT OF STATE WASHINGTON, D.C., October 9, 1961 DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: As required by Section 103(b) of the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951 (Battle Act),1° I am advising you herewith of certain shipments to the Soviet bloc of Control Act embargo items by countries receiving United States assistance and recommending to you that assistance to these countries be continued. This report covers shipments which have not been covered by any previous Presidential Determinations under Section 103(b) of the Control Act. The countries involved in the shipments and the circumstances under which they were made are as follows: THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY The Federal Republic of Germany shipped to Poland direction finding equip ment for civilian air traffic use valued at $20,000, and also shipped $21,677 worth of boron carbide for use in Polish civilian industry. UNITED KINGDOM The United Kingdom shipped $2,985 worth of air-sea rescue equipment to Poland. The United Kingdom also shipped a small computer valued at $4,158 to Poland, and $1,680 worth of electronic equipment to Communist China, for civilian uses. THE NETHERLANDS The Netherlands shipped $48 worth of tungsten wire to Poland for civilian use. FRANCE France shipped to Poland $262,392 worth of electronic equipment for civilian television transmission, and shipped $20,000 worth of dental cobalt alloy to Czechoslovakia. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS All shipments listed herein were presented for consideration in the international security trade control body (COCOM) before the export was authorized and all of these shipments were considered to be for civilian use. The countries mentioned above have cooperated for 11 years in controlling strategic shipments to the Soviet bloc. They make important contributions to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. United States aid to these countries is largely military aid, enabling them to meet their NATO obligations, thus enhancing the security of the free world, including the United States. In the light of the foregoing considerations, and having taken into account each of the statutory criteria set forth in the first proviso of Section 103(b) of the Battle Act, as they apply to each of the foregoing countries, I recommend that the United States, in its own security interest, should continue aid to these countries. The recommendations in this letter are based on the advice of Assistant Secretary of State Edwin M. Martin, Deputy Administrator for the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act, and are concurred in by other interested agencies. Respectfuly submitted, THE PRESIDENT, The White House. GEORGE W. BALL Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Taken from appendix D of the 16th report, pp. 45-46. 10 Text in American Foreign Policy, 1950–1955: Basic Documents, pp. 3101-3105. TABLE 1.-PERCENTAGE CHANGE FROM 1960 TO 1961 IN FREE-WOrld Trade WITH THE SINO-SOVIET BLOC 11 1 Includes trade with Outer Mongolia, north Korea, and north Viet-Nam, where data are available. 7,388. 0 4,320. 3 3,067.7 8, 460. 1 4,756. 8 3, 703.3 D. The "Food for Peace" and Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance (Public Law 480) Programs ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AMERICAN FOOD-FOR-PEACE COUNCIL: Announcement Issued by the White House, May 7, 1961 1 THE AGRICULTURAL TRADE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1954, AS AMENDED: Public Law 480, 83d Congress, Approved July 10, 1954, as Amended Through Public Law 87-195, Approved September 4, 1961 2 "This table is taken from p. 52 of the 16th report. 1White House press release dated May 6, released May 7, 1961; the Department of State Bulletin, May 29, 1961, p. 829. The Council was set up to "provide citizen leadership for both the United States Food-for-Peace Program and the Freedom-From-Hunger Campaign of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations." Its cochairmen were James A. Michener and Mrs. Raymond Clapper. 2 Text in Legislation on Foreign Relations, With Explanatory Notes, February 1962 (Committee print of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 87th Cong., 2d sess.), pp. 147–163. |