Office of the Historian

611.009/9–2445: Circular airgram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Diplomatic Representatives in the American Republics

Washington, September 24, 1945—9:55 a.m.

The recent action of the War Production Board in removing all but a few imported products from General Imports Order M–63,18 and the action of the Foreign Economic Administration on September 10 of drastically reducing the number of commodities for which individual export licenses will be required, plus numerous other actions by Government agencies since V–J Day, have given ample indication of this Government’s intention to put into practice its policy to remove all wartime controls on international trade and government participation in such trade as rapidly as is consistent with the objectives of this Government for an orderly economic transition from war to peace. Such controls as remain will be for the purpose of assuring adequate supplies to meet minimum civilian requirements of items in short supply. Such action also carries out the obligations which this Government assumed under the first paragraph of Resolution XX of the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace at Mexico City.19

In your discretion you should take advantage of an early opportunity in discussions with local officials to stress such positive and extensive action as that referred to above which this Government is [Page 723] taking in removing controls and to express the strong hope of this Government that similar action will be taken or continue to be taken in the other American republics. As you are aware, this Government is particularly concerned at the possibility that economic controls in general and controls on trade in particular which have been imposed during the war, will be continued in permanent form after they are no longer required for their original purpose.

Acheson
  1. For texts of the order and its numerous amendments, see lists of War Production Board regulations by document designations in the indexes of the Federal Register.↩
  2. For text of this Resolution, see Pan American Union, Final Act of the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace, Mexico City, February–March, 1945 (Washington, 1945), p. 59.↩