Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XII, Western Europe

343. Memorandum From the President Special Assistant (Rostow) to President Johnson¹

Washington, October 26, 1967.

Mr. President:

The Canadians will announce this morning that they will henceforth consider as internal waters certain bays along the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. We do not yet know the full details of what they plan to announce. Their action could give us additional difficulties in holding to our position on the status of international waters. It could also be troublesome to our fishing industry.

The attached memorandum from State gives some background on this action and outlines what we propose to do.²

State will issue a public statement at its afternoon briefing,³ making clear that we are reserving our rights.

Walt

1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Canada, Vol. 5. No classification marking. A handwritten “L” and the notation “rec’d 12:46” are on the memorandum.
2. Not printed. It summarized the U.S. position and outlined U.S. responses to the Canadian action.
3. A copy is in the Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, Canada, Vol. 5.