Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume IV, Foreign Assistance, International Development, Trade Policies, 1969–1972

141. Information Memorandum From Ernest Johnston of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)¹

Washington, June 14, 1971.

SUBJECT

• Connally Attempts to Back-Up on Aid Untying

Secretary Connally has written a memorandum to the President, which was sent in on June 11 suggesting that we go slow in our OECD negotiations on multilateral aid untying (Tab A).² Connally argues that completion of the untying negotiations is likely to cause us serious Congressional problems in regard to our total aid efforts.

The President, however, has made a number of public commitments on this issue. His Aid Message of September 15, 1970, the Foreign Policy Message on February 1971 and the April 1971 Message transmitting aid legislation to Congress all endorsed a multilateral aid untying agreement.³ (In fact, the negotiations are not going very fast now because of French opposition.)

Should the President accept Connally’s suggestions, which went to the President without any White House staffing, this would mean a major reversal in U.S. aid policy. I have cleared in your name a memorandum which Peterson is sending to the President this morning asking the President not to make any decisions on the basis of the Connally memorandum until Peterson has had a chance to report to the President on the status of the issue.⁴

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Agency Files, Box 289, Treasury, Volume II, 1971. No classification marking. The memorandum is Tab A to a June 14 memorandum from Johnston to Kissinger suggesting items he discuss with Connally at lunch the next day. Johnston recommended that Kissinger “tell Connally that the decision to proceed with the OECD exercise and to expand aid untying is one which the President has strongly endorsed in a number of public statements. To attempt now to undercut the OECD exercise would be a serious public reversal in the President’s development program. We look upon the OECD exercise as a means of increasing the benefits to the developing countries of a given amount of aid. We would concur in an OECD agreement only if we were sure that we would make a fair share of the aid shipments under other countries’ development programs.” Other items Johnston suggested Kissinger take up with Connally were Connally’s tough statements on trade policy, offset with Germany, IFI legislation, and next steps in the international monetary field.
2. Document 140.
3. The September 15 address and the April 1971 message are printed in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard Nixon, 1970, pp. 745-756, and ibid., 1971, pp. 564-578, respectively. The February 1971 message was released as U.S. Foreign Policy for the 1970s: Building for Peace, A Report to Congress by Richard Nixon, President of the United States, February 25, 1971. It is also printed ibid., pp. 219-345.
4. The memorandum was not found.