365. Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, August 22, 19571
SUBJECT
- Secretary Anderson’s Conversation with Secretary Dulles Regarding His Visit to Brazil and Argentina and Regarding the Buenos Aires Economic Conference
PARTICIPANTS
- The Secretary of State
- The Honorable Robert B. Anderson, Secretary of the Treasury
- Mr. William P. Snow, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs
Secretary Anderson came to the Department at 4:00 p.m. today to discuss with Secretary Dulles the former’s recent visit to Brazil and Argentina and the progress of the Economic Conference at Buenos Aires.2
[Page 760]He had stopped in Rio de Janeiro for two days on his way to Buenos Aires. The Brazilian Finance Minister, Sr. Alkmin, and the head of the Economic Section of the Foreign Office, Sr. Barbosa daSilva, were among the officials with whom he conversed. They were disposed to discuss frankly with him the economic situation of their country, and even to exchange informal views on the basic problems encountered by persons in their positions in helping to run a country from the economic and financial standpoint. Although Brazil’s dollar exchange balance was down to $11 million, a very low figure, they did not seem unduly concerned.
With regard to coffee production, they asserted that, despite some new plantings of coffee trees, Brazil was not seeking to increase the quantity of production so much as to improve the quality. Secretary Anderson learned that about 40% of the country’s foreign currency expenditure went for fuel imports, while coffee comprised from 60 to 70% of exports, making the country heavily dependent on coffee as an export commodity, and much in need of a better solution of its fuel problem. The exchange imbalance was aggravated by the natural desire of Brazilians to import in volume such products as automobiles; hence the need for high duties as a control measure.
Secretary Anderson was … favorably impressed with President Kubitschek .… The President gave a dinner for him, to which he invited the leader of the political Opposition. Secretary Anderson considered this a mark in the President’s favor . . . . .
President Kubitschek acknowledged privately that .… Another presidential problem was the legislative practice whereby the Congress not only had the right of “item veto” but also that of deletion. An administration bill, for example, containing a negative sentence could have the negative word deleted, thereby completely changing the meaning of the sentence. The President had just been through the process of achieving a revision of the tariff, which made him acutely aware of the congressional problem.
Secretary Anderson also saw Sr. Amaral da Peixoto, the Brazilian Ambassador to Washington. Ambassador Peixoto is the head of the party of which President Kubitschek is a member. At a dinner given by the Foreign Minister, Secretary Anderson sat beside Ambassador Peixoto, who brought up the Brazilian petroleum situation. Secretary Anderson told him that petroleum was a subject he would [Page 761] not have raised himself but he was willing to discuss it and was interested to hear the Ambassador’s views.…
. . . . . . .
[Here follows discussion of other matters related to the Buenos Aires Economic Conference.]
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 033.1100–AN/8–2257. Confidential. Drafted by Snow.↩
- The Economic Conference of the Organization of American States met at Buenos Aires, August 15–September 4. Anderson was the chairman of the U.S. Delegation to the conference. For documentation on this subject, see vol. vi, Documents 135 ff.↩