88. Editorial Note
On January 19, 1972, George Willis sent Under Secretary Volcker a paper entitled “Alternative Possibilities for Coordinating Balance of Payments Improvement,” setting forth conclusions reached at a January 17 meeting in Volcker’s office. The paper noted that several departments and agencies had responsibilities in the balance-of-payments area, and concluded they could best be coordinated by a Cabinet-level committee chaired by the Treasury Department. In Willis’ first scenario, a Cabinet Committee on the Balance of Payments would replace the Council on International Economic Policy. Other alternatives were also put forward. (Washington National Records Center, Department of the Treasury, Files of Under Secretary Volcker: FRC 56 79 15, BOP—General)
On January 20 former NSC Staff member C. Fred Bergsten, in his capacity as Visiting Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations and Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution, wrote Henry Kissinger to express his concern that if Peter Peterson left the White House, the [Page 218] Treasury Department, under Connally, would seek to monopolize the international economic policy decisionmaking process, making it more difficult for Kissinger to “find handles.” (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Subject Files, Box 309, Brookings Institution) On January 27 President Nixon announced Commerce Secretary Stans’ resignation and his intent to nominate Peterson as Secretary of Commerce. (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard M. Nixon, 1972, pages 107-109) Peter Flanigan was named to replace Peterson in the White House.
On March 31 Michael Bradfield sent Under Secretary Volcker a draft memorandum to the President that set forth Secretary Connally’s proposal that the President add to Connally’s responsibilities for monetary and tax matters responsibility for overall trade policy as well. The reasoning was that monetary, trade, and tax matters were closely integrated, but international consideration of these issues was fragmented into separate jurisdictional compartments. Connally’s proposal was in lieu of legislation pending in Congress to give a broad statutory mandate to the CIEP. (Washington National Records Center, Department of the Treasury, Files of Under Secretary Volcker: FRC 56 79 15, PAV International Monetary Reform 1972) No record has been found that the proposal was forwarded to the President.