Pauley Files

No. 765
British Text of a Draft Report by the Economic Subcommittee1
[Extracts2]

Draft Report of the Economic Sub-Committee of the Foreign Secretaries on the Subject of the Liability to Reparations of Italy and Austria

The Sub-Committee have regarded it as outside their competence to discuss the question whether reparations should or should not be exacted from Italy and Austria on political grounds. From the economic point of view, the Committee makes the following report.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

B. Austria

A number of the above considerations3 also apply, in the opinion of the Sub-Committee, to the question of exacting reparations from Austria. In the immediate future relief imports into Austria will be necessary. It is desirable that these should be furnished by UNRRA and UNRRA will not furnish relief for the purpose of enabling Austria to pay reparations. The Committee consider, therefore, that reparation deliveries from current production should not be exacted from Austria.

2. The Committee recommend that consideration should be given to the question whether, and to what extent, Austria should make once-for-all deliveries of capital goods. The Committee are of the view [Page 664] that decisions as regards once-for-all deliveries should be left over for later settlement until actual conditions in Austria can be stated and form the subject of agreed conclusions.

The Sub-Committee point out that from the economic point of view, once-for-all removals under the heading of war booty have the same effect as removals under the heading of reparations.

S. D. W[aley]

  1. Printed from the ribbon copy, which bears only typed initials.
  2. For the section of this draft dealing with Italy, see document No. 1097.
  3. i. e., the considerations mentioned in the section dealing with Italy. See document No, 1097.