516. Editorial Note

Harold Macmillan recalls in his memoirs that, in order to contain the serious loss of British financial reserves and thereby buttress the pound sterling, he had requested the International Monetary Fund to repay the British quota. According to Macmillan, his urgent call to New York was referred to Washington. It was only while the British Cabinet was sitting during the morning of November [Page 1013] 6 that he received a reply that the United States Government would not agree to the technical procedure until Great Britain had agreed to a cease-fire. (Riding the Storm, 1956–1959, pages 163–164) No documentation concerning the British request or the American response has been found in Department of State files. Matters relating to the International Monetary Fund fell within the jurisdiction of the United States Treasury. The United States at a later date approved repayment of Great Britain’s first two tranches. (Telegram 3914 to London, December 3; Department of State, Central Files, 398.13/12–356)