Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Foreign Economic Policy, Volume IV

137. Draft Minutes of the 109th Meeting of the Council on Foreign Economic Policy⁰

December 1, 1960.¹

[Here follow a list of participants and discussion of an unrelated matter.]

II. CFEP 554—Review of Results Under “Buy American” Executive Order.

1. The Council considered the following papers:

a. Report and recommendations of the Bureau of the Budget entitled “Procurement under the Buy American Act and Executive Order 10582”, distributed to Council members on September 6, 1960 as CFEP 554/1, and revision of such recommendations distributed to Council members on September 14, 1960 as CFEP 554/2.²

b. Staff memorandum entitled “Buy American Act Reciprocity”, on the subject of a Buy American reciprocity proposal by the Department of Commerce, distributed to Council members on October 28, 1960 as CFEP 554/3.³

c. Memorandum of the Bureau of the Budget entitled “Memorandum Respecting the Balance of Payments Implications of the Paper, ‘Procurement Under the Buy American Act and Executive Order 10582’” and copy of memorandum from the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Supply and Logistics) to the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, both distributed to Council members on November 23, 1960 as CFEP 554/4.⁴

2. The Council reached consensus that no change should be made in the Buy American Act or Buy American Executive Order 10582, and that no department or agency need change its present administration thereof.

Joseph Rand
Secretary

0. Source: Eisenhower Library, CFEP Chairman Records, Papers Series, CFEP Minutes, 1960. Confidential.
1. The meeting was held at the Executive Office Building.
2. CFEP 554/1 is in Eisenhower Library, White House Office, Cabinet Secretariat Records. Regarding CFEP 554/2, see Document 135.
3. It recommended that the following statement be added to E.O. 10582: “Bids would only be valid from nationals of countries where the same opportunity would be afforded our concerns to bid on similar proposals.” (Washington National Records Center, CFEP Files: FRC 62 A 624)
4. The Bureau of the Budget concluded that, while its effects on the balance of payments were not precisely known, the Buy American program would have to be made more severe to achieve a savings. The Bureau recommended that the administration continue its efforts to have the rider to Department of Defense appropriations eliminated. The letter from the Assistant Secretary of Defense argued for continuing the small business differential. (Both ibid.)