Office of the Historian

264. Memorandum of Conversation1

Washington, November 13, 1964, 10:30 a.m.

PARTICIPANTS

  • Foreign Minister Halvard Lange
  • Ambassador Engen
  • Mr. Olaf Bucher-Johannesen
  • Governor Herter
  • Mr. Dallas Jones, Country Committee III
  • Mr. Eric Youngquist, EUR/BNA
  • Mr. Kenneth Auchincloss

The discussion centered on the many uncertainties involved in the current internal EEC debate on the Kennedy Round exception list and grains price unification. Mr. Lange was fearful that the EEC would claim a number of exceptions that would hit Norwegian trade and thus force Norway to withdraw some of its offers.

Governor Herter stressed the United States’ concern that even if grains price unification is agreed within the EEC, the French will insist on a rigid application of the montant de soutien in the Kennedy Round. This would leave the United States with increased restrictions on 28 percent of its exports and would force it to make heavy withdrawals.

The Foreign Minister asked how long a delay the United States would accept before negotiations on agriculture began. The delay should certainly not be indefinite, Governor Herter replied. January or February of next year was about the limit. He pointed out that there has already been an adverse reaction among domestic farm groups to the United States decision to proceed with industrial exceptions lists on November 16th. The longer agricultural negotiations are delayed, the more hostile they will become.

The Governor made clear that the United States will put its exception list in Wyndham White’s hands on November 16th but will ask him not to release it to others unless all key countries have also submitted their lists. Governor Herter added that the United States list was surprisingly short.

Governor Herter asked how Norway would be affected by the British import surcharge. Mr. Lange replied that Norway appeared to be the hardest hit of all the EFTA countries, particularly among industries that had just begun to develop British markets. Norway did not want to embarrass the UK, but it had to insist that the surcharges would really be temporary and would not have a permanent effect on British prices.

  1. Source: Kennedy Library, Herter Papers, Memoranda of Conversation, 7/25/63–4/21/66, Box 10. Limited Official Use. The source text bears no drafting information except the date November 16. The meeting was held in Herter’s office.↩