Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Western Europe, Volume III

740.5/5–350: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Douglas) to the Secretary of State

priority

London, May 3, 1950—6 p. m.

2410. For the Secretary.

1. ReDepintel April 27¹ summarizing suggestions Ambassador Bruce covering study group “to consider best method of developing political and economic association of North Atlantic community, including as members US and Western Germany.”²

Agree completely with Bruce’s suggestion but hope that there will be added to this study the following questions:

(a) In a military sense should Western Germany now be admitted to such a community; and

(b) Will participation by the US and Canada in economic and political affairs in fact abate the UK’s clearly evidenced reluctance to become associated in a closer economic union, if not also political, with the Western European countries.

2. As to the second, probably since 1945, certainly since the British crisis of 1947,³ the record discloses that this Government has with increasing conviction moved far from their position that bilateral arrangements and exchange controls are indulged in only because they are necessary, toward (but not necessarily completely to) the view that bilateral trade arrangements and exchange restrictions and various devices aimed at protecting the internal system from external influences are in themselves good. I do not, therefore, believe that US–UK participation in economic and political affairs of the North Atlantic community in the sense that they will be part of an integrated or a quasi-integrated economic area will in fact, when put to the test, notwithstanding British flirtations with US, produce any fundamental change in the present Government’s attitude and will not therefore advance the world toward a more free conversion of exchanges and a more unrestricted flow of goods.

3. Bulwarks of internal planning and defenses against external adverse influences in all of the forms, including bilateral trade arrangements and exchange controls employed both for the purpose of conserving reserves as well as for the purpose of extending the scope of bilateral commercial undertakings, will be abandoned in whole or in part by this Government only when the results of the test of experience prove to be, as I am sure in the course of five years they will prove to be, poorly if not dangerously adapted to the position of this island in its inescapable commercial and economic world context. An “umbrella” such as the North Atlantic community will not, I believe, by itself produce the result we have in mind.

4. This cable not intended to be a full discussion of the problem. It therefore should not be construed to be a completely negative attitude. It is sent solely for the purpose of questioning the premise that US participation in North Atlantic community will cause British resistance to closer economic and political union to evaporate.

Sent Department 2410, repeated Paris 723.

Douglas

1. Not printed.
2. See last paragraph of telegram 1887 from Paris, April 25, p. 63.
3. See Foreign Relations, 1947, vol. iii, pp. 1 ff.