Office of the Historian

1. Memorandum From the Chairman of the Council on Foreign Economic Policy (Randall) to the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Cutler)2

Washington, January 21, 1958.

SUBJECT

  • NSC 55063
1.
On January 18, 1956 the National Security Council, by NSC Action No. 1506–b,4 requested the Council on Foreign Economic Policy to review NSC 5506 (Future Economic Assistance to Asia) in the light of the revised Basic National Security Policy then in preparation.
2.
The CFEP formally reviewed NSC 5506 on January 15, 1958 and recommends that it be cancelled for the following reasons:
a.
NSC 5506 is outdated since the conditions underlying it, namely the inauguration of a large-scale regional assistance program in the Far East, are no longer applicable.
b.
Many of the principles and objectives set forth in NSC 5506 have been superseded by later statements in NSC 5602/1 and NSC [Page 2] 5707/85 which provide broader and more ample policy guidance on this subject.
c.
The summary findings and recommendations of the Report of the Committee on Asian Regional Economic Development and Cooperation (pages ii through v of CFEP 562/1),6 which were approved by the CFEP on January 15, 1958 and referred to appropriate agencies for their consideration are generally consistent with the point of view expressed in NSC 5506, reflect more current thought on Asian regional development, and provide more applicable courses of action.
3.
In connection with the action taken on NSC 5506, the CFEP, at its meeting of January 15, 1958, recommended that a copy of the Report of the Committee on Asian Regional Development and Cooperation (Tab A)7 and the CFEP action thereon be transmitted to the NSC for its information.
4.
Attached as Tab B is a copy of the CFEP minutes of January 15, 1958 reflecting the above action.
Clarence B. Randall8
  1. Source: Department of State, PPS Files: Lot 67 D 548, Asia 1956–1958. Confidential. A covering memorandum from Lay to the NSC dated January 22 is included in the microfiche supplement to this volume.↩
  2. Entitled “Future U.S. Economic Assistance to Asia,” dated January 25, 1955; Foreign Relations, 1955–1957, vol. xii, pp. 16–22.↩
  3. See the editorial note, ibid., p. 163.↩
  4. Both entitled “Basic National Security Policy,” dated March 16, 1956, and June 3, 1957, respectively; ibid., vol. xix, pp. 242–268 and 507–524.↩
  5. Circulated under date of September 11, 1957, and distributed again, unmodified, as CFEP 562/1, January 7, 1959. The Summary Recommendations of this report are printed ibid., vol. xxi, pp. 378–379.↩
  6. Neither Tab A nor Tab B is printed.↩
  7. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩