841.24/2186a
Memorandum by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury ( Morgenthau ), and the Foreign Economic Administrator ( Crowley ) to President Roosevelt
In accordance with the suggestion in your memorandum of January 5, 1944, the Foreign Economic Administration has now discussed with the British representatives the larger part of the list of controversial items heretofore supplied to the British on lend-lease aid. The following comments and the attached list83 indicate the present status of the various items:
The British have signified acceptance of the elimination from lend-lease aid of the items shown in Group I, which would total approximately $145 million in 1944.
Discussions with the British are under way or pending with respect to the items shown in Group II. These items would total approximately $143 million in 1944. The Foreign Economic Administration wishes, subject to further checking, to eliminate these items from lend-lease aid.
The total of the items in Groups I and II which will or may be removed from lend-lease aid would be approximately $288 million in 1944.
Convincing reasons against the elimination of the items shown in Group III were developed by further investigation. The Foreign Economic Administration, therefore, proposes to continue them on lend-lease aid for the present. The dollar volume of lend-lease aid for such items in 1944 will be approximately $245 million.
The Foreign Economic Administration proposes to continue examining the items supplied under lend-lease aid, such as offshore purchases other than those listed, supplies for South Africa, and certain other controversial groups, with a view to making any further [Page 43] adjustments that may be required. The Foreign Economic Administration is also exploring the possibility of avoiding friction with respect to commercial exports through the transfer to a cash basis of the quantities of certain types of raw materials and products now supplied under lend-lease aid which are used by the United Kingdom in commercial exports.
It is believed that the actual and contemplated revisions will greatly strengthen the lend-lease program.
H. Morgenthau, Jr.
Leo Crowley
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