840.50/8–1744
The British Minister (Campbell) to the
Under Secretary of State (Stettinius)
Washington, 17 August,
1944.
My Dear Mr. Under Secretary: The State Department
will recollect the reasons which earlier in the year led the Czechoslovak
delegate to raise certain issues in the Regional European Committee of the
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. The questions put
by the Czechoslovak delegate (in the form of a letter, which has become
known as the Nemec letter)1 may be summarised as follows:
- (a)
- What services and supplies (especially of raw materials) will be
provided by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
Administration within the definition of Resolution I of the First
Council?2
- (b)
- What principles, having regard to the general need of avoiding an
unruly scramble for available supplies, should guide member states
in their attempts to obtain their import requirements of goods which
the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration will not
provide or will provide only in part? Are member states bound in
this respect by the resolution passed at St. James’ Palace in
September 1941 under which they undertook to coordinate their plans
for obtaining food, raw materials and articles of prime necessity
for liberated countries?3
The questions put by the Czechoslovak member of the Committee of the Council
(of UNRRA) for Europe have led H.M. Government to consider how best to deal
with the requirements of liberated countries
[Page 615]
which fall outside the scope of the United Nations
Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.
I accordingly attach a memorandum in which my Government has stated the
manner in which it feels that the supply aspect of a number of the economic
problems which will arise in Europe after liberation might be dealt with.
You will note that these proposals have not yet been fully worked out but
you will see that what my Government has in mind is broadly to evolve a
system which will bring the European Allies together on their reconstruction
and raw materials problems while at the same time preserving to the Combined
Boards4 the control which is essential if a scramble for
supplies on world markets is to be avoided.
Believe me [etc.]
[Enclosure]
Memorandum
It will be recollected by the United States Government that the letter
addressed by Mr. Nemec on behalf of the Czechoslovak Government to the
London office of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
Administration on February 29, 1944 drew attention to the urgent need
for materials to provide employment and to restore normal life in the
industrial areas of liberated territories in addition to those materials
which fall within the strict definition of relief and rehabilitation as
laid down in the Resolutions adopted by the First Session of the Council
of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration at
Atlantic City in November 1943. As a result His Majesty’s Government in
the United Kingdom have given consideration how best to deal with those
requirements of liberated countries which fall outside the scope of the
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.
- 2.
- His Majesty’s Government consider that whilst there would be
advantage in the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
scrutinising all these requirements generally, with a view to
deciding which of them it could properly handle, they would not wish
this procedure to lead to an extension of the scope of the United
Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration in the direction of
reconstruction. Nor do they consider that the lists of Allied
requirements which the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
regard as beyond their scope should necessarily be sent in that form
to the Combined Boards (unless the Combined Boards would like to see
them for purposes of information).
- 3.
- The reasons that influence His Majesty’s Government in the above
views are: First, many of the requirements in this field will be for
goods which by their nature are unsuitable for the technique of
programming and allocation. Secondly, in any case, the Combined
Boards would probably not be able to recommend sources of
procurement now on requirements which are necessarily some way ahead
in time, likely to be drastically revised after liberation and in
some cases, never likely to result in firm orders owing to lack of
finance. Thirdly, the total list of requirements produced will very
likely include a number of requirements which can be met by
Intra-European trade and with which the Combined Boards may not wish
to concern themselves at any rate in the first instance.
- 4.
- Except where the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
Administration is unable or unwilling, for lack of finance, to
provide for the emergency rehabilitation which all agree to be
urgently necessary, it is the view of His Majesty’s Government, that
the requirements which cannot be dealt with by the United Nations
Relief and Rehabilitation Administration must in general await
detailed certification when the actual position in the various
European countries can be properly ascertained. His Majesty’s
Government consider that the chief effort for the present should be
concentrated on inducing the European countries to prepare to help
themselves and meet each other’s requirements to the largest
possible extent. The European countries will inevitably be somewhat
discouraged if they cannot be offered guidance on how their
reconstruction requirements can be considered.
- 5.
- It may be assumed that in due course proposals will be put forward
for financing reconstruction which will be of benefit to the
Czechoslovak Government and other Governments which are without
liquid funds, though disposing in some cases at least of
considerable industrial potential, including a fair percentage of
skilled labour which may only require raw materials to produce
supplies urgently needed by their European neighbours.
- 6.
- For these reasons, His Majesty’s Government consider that some
preparatory steps should be undertaken without delay. They have been
considering the possible establishment in London of some kind of
European Economic Committee. This body might comprise
representatives of all the European countries (but not, for the
present, neutral and ex-enemy states), as well as the United
Kingdom, the United States and Soviet representatives, whose
guidance would be necessary at every stage. The proposed Committee
would be an advisory body of not too formal a kind, constituted in
such a way that it could, if necessary, be adapted to become the
economic organ of the United Nations Commission for Europe,
suggested in the United
[Page 617]
Kingdom memorandum of the 1st of July, 1943,5 which was discussed by the Moscow
Conference in connection with the European Advisory
Commission.
- 7.
- The main object of this new committee would be to act as a
clearing house for discussion between the various European states of
the question of policy which they would have to settle in order to
ensure the maximum interchange of goods (including food and raw
materials) between themselves in the post-military period. At the
least such a body would provide a means by which the Allies could
discuss problems such as those raised by Mr. Nemec, and that is no
doubt their most immediate task. It would probably be desirable at
the outset at least to exclude from its functions the consideration
of economic policy towards Germany, though the manner of linking it
with the machinery for controlling German economy will require
careful consideration in due course, and His Majesty’s Government
intend to give further thought to this problem. It is likely that
such a body could not make much progress in establishing detailed
requirements or in arranging for the actual disposition of supplies
to meet them, but it would prepare the path for this. The proposed
Committee, His Majesty’s Government suggest, should not attempt to
deal with actual procurement or movement of supplies but rather with
the possibility and methods of collaboration between the European
allies on reconstruction matters.
- 8.
- In the meanwhile, His Majesty’s Government think it is important
that the manner in which European resources, particularly of Raw
Materials and some foodstuffs, should be mobilized, should be
discussed by them with the United States Government so that the best
guidance can be offered to the European Governments. Many raw
materials and some foodstuffs needed in Europe can be supplied
partly from within Europe and partly from overseas. The first
necessity is to know total requirements and the extent to which they
can be met from within Europe when the necessary information is
available. His Majesty’s Government think that these facts should be
worked out by the European Allies themselves. There should then be
discussion between the Allies and the Combined Boards on how
requirements can be met from the most convenient source of supply.
If this were done the Boards themselves could keep to their main job
of allocating supplies to go into Continental Europe, and to the
allocation of certain designated indigenous European supplies needed
for the war efforts, e.g., Scandinavian (but not necessarily Balkan)
soft woods, hides, and also of critical materials such as synthetic
rubber. The detailed work of assessing non-designated European
supplies and their detailed disposition could be left to a European
body which
[Page 618]
though not
formally subordinate to the Combined Boards would collaborate
closely with them and act within the framework of their allocations.
If this development took place these European controls could take
their place as part of the machinery referred to in paragraph 6
above.
Washington, 17 August,
1944.
