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

72. Memorandum From the President’s Administrative Assistant (Anderson) to the President’s Personal Secretary (Whitman)⁰

June 19, 1958.

11:46 a.m.–12:15 p.m., Thursday, June 19, 1958

I accompanied Congressman Tom Curtis of Missouri in to see the President. When he told the President he was here primarily to discuss the lead and zinc problem¹ the President said “can’t you bring me a pleasant subject sometime”.

Curtis highly praised Assistant Secretary Thomas Mann of the State Department for his “global plan”. He said he thought this would result in much better relations between the United States and foreign countries with whom we trade. He indicated his opposition to the so called Seaton plan² providing subsidies for lead and zinc producers.

The President indicated that he had an extremely tough decision to make and that he considered the subsidy proposal only a temporary one until some better and more permanent plan could be developed. Curtis went on then to emphasize the fact that an increase in tariff was the best way to handle the situation. He said he was talking from the premise that the lead and zinc industries have been injured and that the Government wishes to do something about it. He said that the tariff increase is the most liberal way to handle the matter and that he opposes both quotas and licenses.

He emphasized the fact that the State Department doesn’t point out to other countries that handling these matters through the tariff is the best and most liberal way to do the job. He said that the use of subsidies might serve to keep in business some of the smaller, more inefficient and high cost producers, and at the same time make the big and efficient companies more money that they are entitled to. The President then stated that the pressures always come from the smaller and more inefficient producers. He said that this was just as true in the lead and zinc industry as it is in farming. He wants to know how many miners are actively engaged in mining lead and zinc. I will get these figures from the Interior Department. The President then pointed out as he has at many other meetings that with our expanding population the prices of raw materials are bound to go up eventually. He also stated that he didn’t believe that we could stockpile too much in the way of minerals as someday our natural resources will be exhausted and what we stockpile will be badly needed.

Congressman Curtis then indicated that one of the reasons for the State Department’s opposition to tariff increases is the fact that it will hurt our friendly trade nations. However, he stated that in lots of these countries competitive products were produced through the use of American capital employing native workers at extremely low wages. He said the “capital take” sometimes runs higher than 30% as against 10% or 12% in this country. He suggested the President have this looked into.

The meeting was friendly and animated, and I think constructive.³

J.Z.A.

0. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Miscellaneous Material. No classification marking.
1. On April 24, the Tariff Commission reported to the President that lead and zinc imports were damaging U.S. producers. See American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1958, pp. 1491–1495.
2. A modified version of this proposal by Secretary of the Interior Fred Seaton was embodied in S. 4036, the Domestic Minerals Stabilization Act. See S. Rept. 1799, Eighty-fifth Congress, Second Session.
3. On June 19, Eisenhower informed Senate Finance Chairman Harry F. Byrd and House Ways and Means Chairman Mills that he was suspending consideration of the Tariff Commission’s findings until the Congress finished its deliberations on the Minerals Stabilization Plan. For text of the President’s letter, see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1958, p. 1496.