611.0031 Executive Committee/8–645: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)
Washington, August
9, 1945—6 p.m.
6720. Urtel 7903, August 6.
- 1.
- The combined political and economic judgment of the Department on the nuclear list is that the following 11 countries should be invited to participate in addition to the United States: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, France, Netherlands, Belgium, U.S.S.R., China and Brazil.
- 2.
- It is believed that the number of countries should be kept small since the greater the number engaged in simultaneous negotiations the more difficult the negotiating problem, particularly for countries other than the United States.
- 3.
- This above group is as small as possible and yet includes the Big Five,65 the members of the British Commonwealth, and major trading nations of Europe, Latin-America and the Orient. Definition of the nucleus by some easily understandable objective standard such as this is considered important in justifying exclusion of other countries.
- 4.
- The Department feels that India should not be included at this time on the grounds that any negotiations by the present Indian Government on this subject would be regarded by Indian nationals as representing British interests in India rather than Indian viewpoint, [Page 89] and might seriously prejudice the success of subsequent negotiations with any national government that may later be chosen. Moreover, the strongly protectionist sentiment in India makes it unlikely that India could be persuaded to join nuclear group in expeditious tariff reduction.
- 5.
- The U.S.S.R. is included as a member of the Big Five and also as a means of working out a solution of problems of state trading system.
- 6.
- China is included as a member of the Big Five largely for political reasons and to afford a further opportunity of influencing along liberal lines the direction of Chinese commercial and industrial policies which are presently in process of development. This would also permit the United States to offer reductions in duties on commodities of which the Orient was practically the sole supplier.
- 7.
- France is included as a member of the Big Five, as an important country in world trade and as a country whose future commercial policies are at a turning point.
- 8.
- Belgium and Netherlands are included as countries important in world trade and especially in the trade of France and other European countries. Moreover, the projected customs union between Belgium and the Netherlands will, if carried out, probably necessitate a revision of their commercial agreements with other countries, and it is desirable that this revision should take place along lines harmonious with our general commercial policy.
- 9.
- The question of the inclusion of dependencies and colonies of the countries named will be considered by individual country committees to be set up by Trade Agreements Committee.66
- 10.
- Department feels that in principle there should be a Latin-American representative included in nuclear list and this representative should be Brazil. Department feels inclusion of Argentina is out of the question.
- 11.
- The foregoing 12 countries (including the United States) imported over 50 percent of the world’s imports in 1937 (by value). About 45 percent of United Kingdom’s 1937 imports were from countries named, and over 40 percent of her exports went to such countries. About 35 percent of the United States imports came from the countries named and 50 percent of our exports went to them. Generally speaking, the percentages are higher in the case of the Dominions’ trade. Inclusion of Crown colonies would further increase the amount of trade included within the group.
- 12.
- The addition of any more countries to the list given in paragraph one would raise difficult problems, in addition to the negotiating [Page 90] problem, regarding the noninclusion of other countries which are relatively as important or more important from point of view of world trade. Among these are Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia.
- 13.
- Under the circumstances the Department and the Trade Agreements Committee are of the opinion that the list should be confined at this time to the 12 countries mentioned in paragraph 1.
Byrnes