373. Letter From the Secretary of State to the Chairman of the Council on Foreign Economic Policy (Randall)1
Dear Clarence: I have just seen your memorandum of July 152 on the subject of US-Canadian economic integration. The State Department study to which you refer was essentially a statistical analysis.3 It was not designed to take into account political judgments or to reflect my views.
We doubt that it is appropriate now to propose an economic integration of the United States and Canada. The Canadians are proud, and rightly proud, of their national independence and are eager to control their own destiny. Both we and the Canadians believe in liberal trade policies, but there might be Canadian concern that, because the United States economy at the present time is so much larger than that of Canada, the economic integration of both countries would in effect subject them to preponderant United States economic influence.
You suggest that “Even if the proposal were turned down by Canada, the making of it would of itself be valuable”. Our relations with Canada are such that we would not want to confront Canada with proposals which we foresee in advance they would reject. We try to work together as good neighbors and not to embarrass each other.
If the United States is to attempt to develop a “common market” or a “free trade” area such as is being considered in Europe, we would also, I think, want to consider the other American Republics.
Sincerely yours,
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 411.4241/7–2557. No drafting information is given on the source text.↩
- Not found. In a July 17 memorandum from Randall to Sherman Adams, Randall expressed his disappointment that the Department of State would not support even a confidential discussion on the subject of economic integration with Canada by the Council on Foreign Economic Policy. (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series)↩
- The study, made by the Office of Intelligence Research, has not been found.↩