Office of the Historian

Lot 60–D 137: Box 1

Minutes of Fifty-first Meeting of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Problems, Washington, January 21, 1947

Washington, January 21, 1947
[Extract]
top secret

present

  • Secretary John W. Snyder, Chairman
  • Mr. James H. Rorke, Maritime Commission, Visitor
  • Mr. Walter M. Day, War Assets Administration, Visitor
  • Mr. William Clayton, State Department
  • Mr. John P. Young, State Department
  • Mr. J. J. Stenger, State Department
  • Mr. Chester M. Carré, Office of Foreign Liquidation Commissioner, State Department
  • Mr. Thomas C. Blaisdell, Jr., Commerce Department
  • Mr. Clarence I. Blau, Commerce Department
  • Mr. Marriner S. Eccles, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System
  • Mr. J. Burke Knapp, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System
  • Mr. William McC. Martin, Jr., Export-Import Bank
  • Mr. August Maffry, Export-Import Bank
  • Mr. Walter C. Louchheim, Jr., Securities Exchange Commission
  • Mr. Harry D. White, International Fund
  • Mr. George Luthringer, International Fund
  • Mr. John Hooker, International Bank
  • Mr. Joseph J. O’Connell, Treasury
  • Department Mr. Andrew N. Overby, Treasury
  • Department Mr. William W. Parsons, Treasury
  • Department Mr. Joseph B. Friedman, Treasury
  • Department Mr. Orvis A. Schmidt, (Acting Secretary)
  • Mr. Andrew M. Kamarck, (NAC Staff)
  • Mr. Allan J. Fisher, (NAC Secretariat)

1. Maritime Commission Credits for Ship Sales

(a) Request of the Italian Government for Increased Credit.

Mr. Schmidt recalled that the Council had earlier approved consideration of a credit amounting to $24 million and that a request had been received that this be raised to $51 million to cover the purchase of 104 war-built vessels instead of the 50 originally contemplated. The Staff Committee’s study pointed out that a saving of foreign exchange expenditures for freight charges is important to Italy and that the Maritime Commission would not only have a claim on the Italian [Page 865] Government but also a mortgage on the ships. The Staff Committee, therefore, recommended that the Maritime Commission be advised that the Council had no objection to consideration of the increased credit (NAC Document No. 336).

The Council approved the recommendation without objection.

Action.

The following action was taken:

(a)
The National Advisory Council has no objection to consideration by the Maritime Commission of increasing the credit to Italy from $24 million to $51 million to provide for the purchase of 104 vessels, in lieu of 50 as originally proposed.
(b)
The Council approves sending a copy of NAC Document No. 336 to the Chairman of the Maritime Commission.1

  1. The minutes of the 53d meeting of the National Advisory Council, held on February 10, not printed, record that it authorized the Export-Import Bank to take action on a $5 million loan to Italy to finance the purchase of leaf tobacco in the United States (Lot 60–D 137: Box 1).↩