Office of the Historian

Conference files, lot 60 D 627, CF 398

No. 678
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Merchant)

confidential
Washington, November 20, 1954.
  • Subject: GATT

Participants:

  • Premier Mendès-France
  • Ambassador Bonnet
  • The Secretary
  • Livingston T. Merchant

The Secretary mentioned to Mendès-France that reports from our Delegation in Geneva were to the effect that the French Delegation was being inflexible and stubborn. He hoped that Mendès-France could urge them to be more accommodating. Mendès-France said that he was not fully briefed on this matter and was anxious to know on what specific issues the French were making difficulties. Was it on Japan or overseas territories or the revision of the Agreement? The Secretary said that he was not informed of the details and did not believe any issue had actually come to a crisis. His impression was that it was a general attitude rather than a specific problem. The Premier laughingly said that he would issue instructions to his Delegation at Geneva to be more “amiable”.