Editorial Note
A draft letter of instructions to the West German Government regarding the establishment of a program of export security controls was approved by the Foreign Trade and Exchange Committee of the Allied High Commission for Germany on November 14. For previous correspondence on these draft instructions, see telegram 3206, October 17, from Frankfurt, page 153. At the meeting of the Allied Council (the supreme authority of the Allied High Commission for Germany) on November 25, the American, British, and French High Commissioners [Page 173] agreed to direct the Joint Export Import Agency (the American-British-French military occupation agency responsible for the administration of German foreign trade which was to pass out of existence on November 28) to send the agreed letter on export controls to the West German Ministry of Economics. The letter included the confidential American 1–A and 1–B commodity lists and suggestions for governmental procedures for the implementation of the necessary restrictions and prohibitions (telegram 4328, November 26, from Frankfurt: 740.00119 Control (Germany)/11–2649). The text of the letter was transmitted to the Department of State in telegram 52, November 29, from Bonn: 740.00119 Control (Germany)/11–2949). West German Minister of Economics Ludwig Erhard soon after informed Allied authorities that he could take no action on trade controls until he received approval from West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. At a meeting between the Allied Council and Chancellor Adenauer on December 8, French High Commissioner Andre Frangois-Poncet called attention to the letter of November 25 on export controls sent to the Ministry of Economics, and he requested the Chancellor take appropriate measures. United States High Commissioner McCloy stressed to Adenauer the necessity of implementing strict export controls to ensure that certain commodities did not move to the East, and he pointed out the relationship of the control program to the entire United States aid program (telegram 64, December 9, from Bonn: 862.00/12–949). In a conversation with Bobert M. Hanes, Chief of the E.C.A. Mission in Germany, West German Minister of Economics Erhard expressed his willingness to cooperate fully with the export control plan outlined in the November 25 letter (telegram 5243, December 27, from Frankfurt: 600.629/12–2749).
For a report on subsequent West German actions to implement the trade control program provided for in the letter of November 25, see telegram 5335, December 30, from Frankfurt, page 182.