Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1943, General, Volume I

800.515/551b

The Assistant Secretary of State (Berle) to the British Treasury Representative in the United States (Phillips)⁵

Washington, February 1, 1943.

My Dear Sir Frederick: In accordance with our recent conversation, I now send you for consideration a preliminary memorandum and a preliminary draft of a Proposal for an International Stabilization Fund of the United and Associated Nations.⁶ These documents were prepared by the technical staff of the United States Treasury in consultation with the technical experts of other departments of this Government. They are intended to serve as a basis for discussion rather than represent, at this stage, an expression of the official views of this Government.

Like copies are being sent to the Russian Ambassador, to the Chinese Ambassador, and to Mr. Redvers Opie.

We should be glad to have any preliminary comments you may care to make and to receive from you any additional suggestions you may wish to make on the general subject of international monetary cooperation.

It is the plan of this Government to send this memorandum for examination to the United and Associated Nations a little later, with the suggestion that they, in the not too distant future, send one or more of their technical experts to Washington to give us their preliminary reaction as to the draft proposal, and discuss with our technical experts the feasibility of international monetary cooperation along the lines suggested in these documents or along any other lilies they may wish to suggest.

Sincerely yours,

A. A. Berle, Jr.

5. Sent also on the same date to the Chinese and Soviet Ambassadors and to the Counselor of the British Embassy.
6. Enclosures not found attached to file copy. For text of the Preliminary Draft Outline of Proposal for a United and Associated Nations Stabilization Fund issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, see Department of State Publication No. 2866, Proceedings and Documents of the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, July 1–22, 1944 (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1948), vol. ii, p. 1536.