Editorial Note
On November 22, 1954, Joseph Dodge submitted his report on “The Development and Coordination of Foreign Economic Policy” to President Eisenhower. The report, which had the concurrence of the President’s Advisory Committee on Government Organization and Director of the Bureau of the Budget Rowland R. Hughes, proposed as an interim solution to the problem of coordinating foreign economic policy that the President establish by Executive order a new, high-level foreign economic policy board or committee, representing the executive departments and chaired by a White House official, to identify and to consider major foreign economic policy issues. As a long-range solution, the report recommended the establishment of a statutory advisory body to the President to develop foreign economic policy programs. A copy of the so-called “Dodge report” is contained in PPS files, lot 65 D 101.
On December 11, 1954, President Eisenhower appointed Dodge Special Assistant to the President, and authorized him to establish and to serve as Chairman of a Council on Foreign Economic Policy (CFEP) through which foreign economic policy planning could be coordinated. Initially, the Council was to be comprised of the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Commerce, Agriculture, and the Director of the Foreign Operations Administration. In addition, the President’s Administrative Assistant for Economic Affairs, Special Assistant for National Security Affairs, and a member of the Council of Economic Advisers were to serve as ex officio members. For additional [Page 105] information, see the White House press release, dated December 11, printed in the Department of State Bulletin., December 27, 1954, pages 987–988.