862U.6362/6–547
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of German and Austrian Economic Affairs ( Kindleberger )
| Participants: | Assistant Secretary Thorp |
| French Ambassador Bonnet | |
| GA—C. P. Kindleberger |
The French Ambassador called at his request. He stated that in connection with the British request for allocation of American coal in the ECO, M. Alphand of the Quai d’ Orsay and Mr. Roger Makins of the Foreign Office had had discussions on Saar coal. The French had proposed that despite lack of a political decision on the future status of the Saar, it might be appropriate for the British, American and French representatives in the ECO to advise ECO immediately that [Page 1080] Saar coal would be regarded as French.49 He stated that Mr. Makins after referring the matter to his government had stated that the British were agreeable to this provided that the change-over was made progressively and that the adjustments on the French reparation share on account of the Saar were taken care of. M. Bonnet asked whether the United States government were also agreeable to these conditions, and if so, whether it would instruct Ambassador Caffery in Paris so that the necessary technical discussions could go forward on a British-French-American basis.
M. Bonnet indicated that the Soviet Union was not particularly concerned with coal and that its refusal to agree to the French proposal for the financial and economic detachment of the Saar had been predicated on wider political considerations. Since Secretary Marshall was agreeable to separation of the Saar, M. Bonnet thought that the United States should be agreeable to the treatment of Saar coal as French in line with the exchange of letters between the Secretary and M. Bidault at Moscow.50
Mr. Thorp pointed out that taking this step despite the fact that a political decision on the detachment of the Saar had not been made involves certain consequences which the Department would have to consider, and when it had done so, they would get in touch with the French Ambassador again.
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According to a memorandum of conversation by Woodruff Wallner, Assistant Chief of the Division of Western European Affairs, dated June 7, 1947, not printed, French Minister Counselor Bérard gave the following additional explanation of the proposal to treat Saar coal as French:
↩“The French were perfectly willing to return to ECO for distribution elsewhere the counter-value of every ton of coal they took from the Saar. The benefit to France in this arrangement was that the increased production which they expected from the Saar, due to improved methods of operation under French control, would go to France. It was useless to tell other people how to increase production; the French had tried it with the British and had failed. The French had, therefore, reached the conclusion that the only way to get more coal out of Europe was to mine it themselves in territory under their control.” (851.014/6–747)
- For the exchange of letters between Secretary Marshall and Foreign Minister Bidault on April 19, 1947, at Moscow, see pp. 486 and 488.↩