740.5 MAP/3–151: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Gifford) to the Secretary of State 1
4708. From ECC for ISAC.
1. In considering item III of its agenda (coordination European military production with US MDAP end item programs and US offshore procurement) ECC had in mind overall objective of meeting MTDP equipment requirements with maximum speed and economy. ECC recommends that ISAC, in connection with its instructions to the field aimed at achieving this objective, incorporate the following policies as essential planning guides, the first four of which should be made clear to NAT country governments by country MDAP groups. We realize that in some cases this will constitute reiteration, but believe these US policies not yet fully accepted by other governments nor reflected in their planning.
- (a)
- MDAP end item programs should not, in general, include items that could reasonably be expected to be produced in Europe and the US will eliminate from end item program requests those items that can reasonably be made in any European NAT country; the US will expect that the countries will take the necessary initiative to produce or procure such equipment.
- (b)
- Pricing in the SG costing exercise, of US types on basis US prices carries no implication whatever that equipment so priced will be obtained under MDAP end item programs.
- (c)
- Scope of both US economic and end item assistance will be related to and supplement willingness our NAT partners undertake maximum defense efforts within their respective economic and financial capabilities, including in such efforts, steps to meet presently unallocated MTDP gap and, if possible, making of burden-sharing contributions to other European NAT countries.
- (d)
- Country end item programs constitute guides to procurement from US productions and will be delivered in accordance with adequacy and efficiency of the countries actual efforts.
- (e)
- Any US procurement in Europe will be undertaken in such manner as to minimize conflicts with principles set forth in paragraphs (a) and (c) above.
2. Joint regional cables expanding on above principles follow.
3. Foregoing message does not cover financial and transfer measures, which are covered in separate ECC cable.2
4. Todep 278 February 273 just received and will be studied further before direct regional comment. [ECC]
- Repeated to Paris for OSR, to Frankfurt, and to Heidelberg for Handy.↩
- Infra.↩
- Not printed; it provided a detailed presentation of the latest Washington views concerning U.S. procurement directly by military services of military equipment and related end items and components in areas outside the continental United States and its possessions. (740.5/2–2451)↩