Department of State Atomic Energy Files
Minutes of a Meeting of the Combined Policy Committee at the Department of State, February 3, 1947
| Present: | Members |
| The Secretary of State (in the Chair) | |
| The Secretary of War1 | |
| Dr. Vannevar Bush | |
| The British Ambassador | |
| Field Marshal Lord Wilson | |
| By Invitation | |
| The Canadian Ambassador2 | |
| Mr. Acheson | |
| Mr. Stone3 | |
| Mr. George Bateman4 | |
| Mr. Munro5 | |
| Col. Jannarone | |
| Dr. King | |
| Mr. Maclean6 | |
| Secretariat | |
| Mr. Gullion7 | |
| Mr. Roger Makins |
I. Minutes of the Meeting of July 31, 1946. 8
The Minutes were approved.
II. Resignations and New Appointments.
The Committee had before it a paper by the Joint Secretaries on this subject, the text of which is annexed to these minutes.9 The Committee accepted and approved the resignations and new appointments described therein.
III. Disposition of Minutes and Records of the Combined Policy Committee.
By a decision at its meeting of December 4, 1945 (Item 10 of the Minutes)10 the C.P.C. agreed that its Minutes and records should be kept in the War Department. Inasmuch as the American Secretariat is now in the Department of State, and meetings will be held there, the Committee agreed that a master copy of the Minutes and records should now be kept in the Department of State.
IV. The Establishment of the United States Atomic Energy Commission and Developments Thereafter.
Mr. Acheson informed the Committee officially that the Atomic Energy Commission had been established in accordance with Public Law 585 and that it had taken over from the Manhattan District the property, functions and personnel as provided in Executive Order 9816 of December 31, 1946.
It did not appear that the passage of the Act and the establishment of the Commission would, at least for the present, affect the operations of the Combined Policy Committee and the Combined Development Trust. The Atomic Energy Commission would take over the American side of the C.D.T.
For the present the Commission would continue to function with respect to procurement under the provisions of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust, but would not participate in the Combined Policy Committee deliberations.
[Page 791]As the Committee was aware, Public Law 585 (the Atomic Energy Act of 1946) prescribes that there shall be no exchange of information with other nations with respect to the use of atomic energy for industrial purposes until Congress declares by joint resolution that effective and enforceable safeguards against its use for destructive purposes have been established.
Mr. Acheson also informed the Committee that if it became necessary to acquaint the appropriate committees of Congress with the war-time arrangements regarding atomic energy between the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, the United States Government would, so far as possible, inform the other C.P.C. governments so that they could if they wished synchronize any exposition which they wished to make to their respective Parliaments.
V. Monazite Sand Supplies for American Rare Earths and Thorium Producers.
The Committee heard statements on this subject by the Chairman and by the British Ambassador, the texts of which are annexed. The Canadian Ambassador stated that insofar as Canadian requirements are concerned the object would be to obtain an assurance that Canada will receive annually from Thorium, Ltd. as cerium chloride the cerium content of 75 tons of monazite sands and in addition that Canada would be able to obtain as thorium oxide rods approximately three to four tons.
Attention was drawn to the fact that the Atomic Energy Commission was responsible for the regulation of the use of atomic energy materials by American industry and that the matter would have to be discussed with them. Prima facie the procedure proposed by the U.K. members appeared to be reasonable. The desirability was recognized of expediting the delivery of monazite to United States industry and it was agreed that they could now be assured that some supplies from Travancore would be made available as soon as possible.
The Committee took note of the Chairman’s, of Lord Inverchapel’s, and of the Canadian Ambassador’s statements and directed the Secretariat
- (a)
- to take up with the Atomic Energy Commission the question of the control and re-export of thorium,
- (b)
- to pursue the question of the quantity and timing of deliveries from Travancore to United States companies.
VI. Filing of Patent Applications by C.P.C. Countries in Non-C.P.C. Countries.
The Committee had before it the annexed paper by the Secretariat on this subject.
Dr. Bush expressed the opinion that security considerations would not allow the filing of such applications at the present time. He suggested [Page 792] that the matter should be further examined in Washington by the patent advisers of the Committee. The Canadian Ambassador stated that a Canadian representative would be available for this examination. Lord Inverchapel said he would do his best to arrange a visit by the U.K. adviser, Mr. Blok.
Dr. Bush also said that he thought that we must look forward to the question of the interchange of patents being raised at some time, and hence it would be well, since the patent advisers were to gather on another matter, for them to give thought to this subject as well in order that it may be in order for consideration at the appropriate time. Personally he felt that as simple an arrangement as possible for interchange would be advisable when the time comes.
On the other hand, he thought that everyone recognised that there could not now be a complete interchange of patents without some formal arrangement for the purpose, and that it will take time to go into this subject.
The Committee took note of and approved the foregoing proposals and instructed the Secretariat to make arrangements accordingly.
VII. Declassification Procedure.
The Committee approved the proposal contained in the attached statement by the U.K. members on this subject.
D. D. Maclean
for
- Robert P. Patterson.↩
- Mr. Hume Wrong.↩
- Thomas A. Stone, Canadian Joint Secretary of the Combined Policy Committee (appointment approved at the present meeting); Canadian Minister in the United States.↩
- Former Canadian Joint Secretary of the Combined Policy Committee (resignation approved at the present meeting).↩
- R. Gordon Munro, British Joint Secretary of the Combined Policy Committee (appointment approved at the present meeting).↩
- Donald D. Maclean, First Secretary in the British Embassy.↩
- Edmund A. Gullion, United States Joint Secretary of the Combined Policy Committee (appointment approved at the present meeting); Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1946, vol. i, pp. 1256, 1257.↩
- The annexes to the minutes are not printed.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1945, vol. ii, p. 89.↩