59. Editorial Note
On November 16, President Eisenhower issued a directive on steps to be taken to improve the U.S. balance of payments. The directive declared it “imperative” that the United States “give the very highest priority to attaining a reasonable equilibrium in its international balance of payments.” It outlined steps to be taken or intensified with respect to international trade, international finance, and domestic economic policy, and it directed the heads of various agencies to take specific steps to reduce expenditures outside the United States. Those steps included reduction of the number of dependents of military and civilian personnel abroad, reduction of overseas procurement, and a requirement that both the International Cooperation Administration [Page 140] and the Development Loan Fund place primary emphasis on financing goods and services of U.S. origin. For text, see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960, pages 786–792. See also Document 138. For the transcript of a news conference held by the President in Augusta, Georgia, at the time of the directive’s release, see Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960–61, pages 861–864.