Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, General; the United Nations, Volume I

Department of State Disarmament Files

Memorandum Prepared in the Central Secretariat of the Policy Committee on Arms and Armaments⁷²

top secret
PCA D–5

[Washington,] June 7, 1946.

Arms Control Policy and Problems

general position

The Department does not have an explicit general policy on arms control. The President and the Secretary of State have publicly endorsed the principle of limiting world armament by international agreement; and this country is committed to the use of procedures for the regulation of armaments such as those found in Articles 11 and 47 of the United Nations Charter. The Department’s representative has presented to SWNCC the view that plans for the regulation of arms traffic by the United Nations Organization fall within the jurisdiction of the Security Council, acting with the advice and assistance of the Military Staff Committee, and that its discussions should not be limited to private traffic in arms (see SWNCC 219 series).⁷³

present policy

Policy has been formulated on such points as:

1. The disarmament and demilitarization of Germany (SC–106,⁷⁴ SC–107,⁷⁵ the Potsdam Communique);

2. The disarmament and demilitarization of Japan (SWNCC 70/10⁷⁶ and the publication, 22 Sept 45, of the U.S. Initial Post-Surrender Policy Document for Japan);⁷⁷

3. The limitation of military establishments for Italy and the principal satellite states to what is necessary to maintain order and protect borders (Secretary’s statement in Press Conference, 12 Feb 46; a document [SWNCC 244 series]^77a on the treaties of peace with Rumania, Bulgaria and Hungary is before SWNCC);⁷⁸

4. The prevention of shipments of military equipment and capital equipment for arms manufacture to Argentina, and the attempt to secure the cooperation of the United Kingdom and Sweden in this policy (Secret Summary of Developments for 16, 18 Jan 46,⁷⁹ the Working Committee on Arms Control⁸⁰ and the Staff Committee have considered documents on this);

5. The refusal to sell military equipment of any kind to Spain (Secret Summary of Developments, 3 Jan 46,⁸¹ Public Statement, 29 Jan 46);⁸²

6. The reduction to a minimum of plans for military assistance to China (SWNCC 83/16, approved on 10 Jan 46);⁸¹

7. The restriction of the use of United States surplus military-type equipment for arming other nations to those special cases where specific commitments exist (Secretary’s Staff Committee, 5 Feb 46);⁸⁴

8. The reduction to a minimum of the supply of arms and military equipment to the other American republics under the Arms Standardization Program, and the Department’s recommendation of a full review of the Arms Standardization Program particularly in view of its possible effect on international efforts to control arms traffic (Secretary’s Staff Committee, 12 Jan 46);

9. The rigid limitation of disclosures of classified military information to foreign governments and their nationals (Armaments Committee Document approved by the Coordinating Committee 17 Oct 45 and by SWNCC 206/9, 21 Jan 46);⁸¹

10. The creation of the Atomic Energy Commission, as part of a program to seek world agreement on means for preventing the destructive use of atomic energy (Joint US–UK Declaration 15 Nov 45 and the terms of reference of the Atomic Energy Commission).⁸⁶

policy problems

Policy problems relating to arms control which are now facing the Department can be divided into two groups: (a) those arising directly from the liquidation of the war; and (b) those emerging in the postwar world.

liquidation of the war

The first includes the disarmament and industrial demilitarization of former enemy states and the disposal of captured matériel and Allied surplus military equipment. The principal remaining problems in this area for which no clear policy has been developed are:

1. The size of military establishments to be allowed to Italy and the satellite powers;

2. Final questions on the de-industrialization of Germany, particularly the disposition of the Ruhr and Rhineland; and

3. The possibility that another Allied power might seek to dispose of surplus military equipment to some third state, especially in Latin America.

limitation of arms

The second group of policy problems includes: (a) the limitation and concerted reduction of military establishments throughout the world; and (b) the control of future international arms traffic. On the question of arms limitation, our existing policy is extremely general and leaves most of the specific problems to be decided. The Department should formulate its position on such questions as:

1. Whether we should take the lead in an effort to achieve international arms limitation;

2. The extent of multilateral disarmament which we should be prepared to propose, support or accept;

3. The relation of our announced general policy of favoring disarmament to existing programs for military assistance to certain other states (especially China, France and Turkey);

4. The relation of our national security program to the same overall policy objective (See SC–169b, Action of Joint Chiefs of Staff Statement of United States Military Policy);⁸⁷ and

5. The military use of atomic energy.

control of arms traffic

At present there is no stated policy on the control of international arms traffic; but recommendations for an interim agreement on arms traffic are pending before the Working Committee on Arms Control, and the Department has referred our policy of military cooperation with the other American republics to SWNCC for thorough review. The whole problem of control of arms traffic is particularly acute for this country because the chief market for such trade is in Latin America. Specific problems to be dealt with in the near future are:

1. The interim agreement on arms traffic;

2. The relation of our military assistance program for Latin America to our general policy objectives;

3. The practicality of closing the Latin American market by other means than the program for the standardization of Latin American arms on American models.

72. The Secretary of State established the Policy Committee on Arms and Armaments by a directive dated May 20, 1946, and circulated as document PCA D–l, May 27. The directive designated Assistant Secretary for Occupied Areas John H. Hilldring Chairman of the Committee. The Chairman of PCA, also Department of State Representative on the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee, was responsible for the coordination of Department of State policy with respect to all matters concerning arms and armaments. The membership of PCA included representatives of the Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs, the geographic offices, the Office of Special Political Affairs, and the Office of Controls. With the establishment of PCA, the Armaments Working Committee, the Arms Policy Committee, and the Working Committee on Arms Control were abolished. PCA first met on May 31. The Committee’s minutes, numbered documents, and other papers are located in the consolidated disarmament lot file.

    The present memorandum was considered by PCA at its 3rd Meeting, June 12. Various questions discussed in the document were referred to competent subcommittees for study.

    For documentation on general United States policy on the question of military assistance to foreign governments, see pp. 1110–1196 passim.

    For documentation on United States policy with respect to military assistance to specific areas of the world or individual nations, see regional and bilateral compilations elsewhere in the Foreign Relations series.

73. See documents SWNCC 219/4, January 15, and SWNCC 219/5D, January 18, pp. 730 and 731, respectively.
74. “SC” is the designation of documents circulated in the Secretary of State’s Staff Committee; for information on that body, see footnote 15, p. 1118. SC–106 consists of the directive to the Commander-in-Chief of United States forces of occupation regarding the military government of Germany, April 26, 1945, the Acting Secretary of State’s memorandum of March 23, 1945, on which the above directive was based, and the Acting Secretary of State’s memorandum of April 26, 1945, transmitting the directive to the President for his approval; for texts, see Foreign Relations, 1945, vol. iii, pp. 484, 471, and 483, respectively.
75. Comments of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the April 26, 1945, directive cited in footnote 74 above; for text, see Foreign Relations, 1945, vol. iii, p. 509.
76. September 10, 1945, not printed.
77. Department of State Bulletin, September 23, 1945, pp. 423–427.
78. Brackets appear in the source text.
78. SWNCC 244, June 5, 1946, not printed.
79. None printed.
80. A predecessor of the Policy Committee on Arms and Armaments in the Department of State.
81. Not printed.
82. Department of State Bulletin, February 10, 1946, p. 218.
81. Not printed.
84. See the Summary of Action of the 184th Meeting of the Secretary of State’s Staff Committee, February 5, 1946, p. 1141.
81. Not printed.
86. Department of State Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) No. 1504, or 60 Stat. (pt. 2), 1479.
87. Post, p. 1123.