Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Western European Integration and Security, Canada, Volume VII, Part 1

283. Memorandum of Conversation⁰

PVC/MC–3

Ottawa, July 9, 1958, 11 a.m.

PRESIDENT’s VISIT TO CANADA

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, July 8–11, 1958

PARTICIPANTS

• United States
  • The President
  • The Secretary
  • Ambassador Merchant
• Canada
  • Cabinet Members (See list at end)¹
  • Prime Minister Diefenbaker

SUBJECT

• 1) US-Canadian Relations
• 2) Premier Iron Ore tax case
• 3) Review of World Position

Mr. Diefenbaker opened the meeting by welcoming the President, referring in warm terms to his frank speech to the House and asking him if he had any general thoughts which he would like to express to the Cabinet.

The President launched into a moving appeal for the development of an even closer relationship between our two governments. He emphasized the importance of discussing problems informally before they reached an acute stage. While recognizing a need for certain formalized bodies such as the Joint Defense Board, he emphasized the importance he attached to informality of exchanges. He then said that he recognized problems existed between us and in his speech he had only taken examples. He went into at some length the question of the Ford export of cars to China, concluding by saying he was sure it was within the imagination of Mr. Dulles and Mr. Smith to find a satisfactory solution to this matter.

The Prime Minister then said that he would ask Mr. Nowlan² to raise a matter. Mr. Nowlan then spoke at some length on the Premier Iron Ore tax case.³ He said that he had been told by Washington that the case would not be appealed and now he understood it was. He asked if the appeal could not be stopped.

The President and the Secretary expressed complete ignorance of the matter. The President said that he would call the Attorney General or the Secretary of the Treasury (later in the meeting he requested the Secretary to make this call today on his behalf) to ascertain the status of this case.⁴

The Prime Minister then introduced the Secretary with a warm welcome and asked him if he would speak on the general world situation. The Secretary spoke at length on the character of the peril confronting the free world, the position of leadership into which, contrary to all its history and desires, the United States had been thrown; and the difficulties of holding together a coalition except under conditions of a fighting war. He praised the President’s leadership in the free world effort and asked the understanding and support of Canada. The Secretary then described briefly his talks with DeGaulle as illustrative of some of the problems which are entailed in holding the coalition together. He echoed the President’s hope that there would be frequent and informal consultation between Canadian and American Cabinet members on particular problems of concern to them.

The meeting closed with the Prime Minister thanking the President and the Secretary for their contribution.

0. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International File. Secret. Prepared by Merchant. The meeting was held at the Parliament Building.
1. Not printed. Fifteen members of the Cabinet attended.
2. George C. Nowlan, Canadian Minister of National Revenue.
3. In 1957, the U.S. Tax Court had dismissed a claim for $2.5 million by the Internal Revenue Service against Consolidated Premier Iron Ores, Ltd. In a subsequent appeal, the claim was allowed by a another Tax Court in Cleveland. By July 1958, it was under consideration by the Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio.
4. Memoranda of two conversations between Secretary Dulles and the Attorney General during the afternoon of July 9 concerning this tax case are in Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, General Telephone Conversations.