Office of the Historian

Abbreviations and Terms

  • ADB, Asian Development Bank
  • ADF, African Development Fund
  • AFL/CIO, American Federation of Labor/Congress of Industrial Organizations
  • AID, Agency for International Development
  • AISI, American Iron and Steel Institute
  • AMC, American Motors Corporation
  • ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations
  • ASP, American Selling Price
  • AVE, ad valorem equivalent
  • b/d, barrels per day
  • Benelux, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg
  • BHN, basic human needs
  • BIS, Bank for International Settlements
  • BOP, balance of payments
  • c/, with
  • C–20, Committee of 20 (Committee on Reform of the International Monetary System)
  • CAP, Common Agricultural Policy
  • cc, carbon copy (term indicating that a copy of a document should be sent to someone)
  • CCC, Commodity Credit Corporation
  • CEA, Council of Economic Advisers
  • CFF, Compensatory Finance Facility
  • CFR, Council on Foreign Relations
  • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
  • CIF, cost, insurance, and freight
  • CIEC, Conference on International Economic Cooperation
  • COET, Crude Oil Equalization Tax
  • COMECON, Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
  • COW, Committee of the Whole (United Nations)
  • COWPS, Council on Wage and Price Stability
  • CPI, Consumer Price Index
  • CWPS, Council on Wage and Price Stability
  • CVD, countervailing duty
  • CY, calendar year
  • D, Democrat
  • DAC, Development Assistance Committee (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)
  • DC, developed country
  • DCC, Development Coordination Committee
  • DCI, Director of Central Intelligence
  • DISC, Domestic International Sales Corporation
  • DM, D-mark, deutschmark
  • DNC, Democratic National Committee
  • DOC, Department of Commerce
  • DOD, Department of Defense
  • DOE, Department of Energy
  • DOI, Department of the Interior
  • DOJ, Department of Justice
  • DOL, Department of Labor
  • DOT, Department of Transportation
  • dols, dollars
  • DPS, Domestic Policy Staff
  • E, Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs
  • EB, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
  • EB/IFD/OMA, Office of Monetary Affairs, International Finance and Development, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
  • EB/OT/GCP, General Commercial Policy Division, Office of International Trade, International Trade Policy, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
  • EC, European Commission; European Communities; European Community
  • ECOSOC, Economic and Social Council (United Nations)
  • ECU, European Currency Unit
  • EDA, Economic Development Administration
  • EEC, European Economic Community
  • EMS, European Monetary System
  • EPA, Economic Planning Agency (Japan); Environmental Protection Agency
  • EPG, Economic Policy Group
  • ERDA, Energy Research and Development Administration
  • ESF, Economic Support Fund; Exchange Stabilization Fund
  • EUR, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/RPE, Office of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, European Community, and Atlantic Political-Economic Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUR/SOV, Office of Soviet Union Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EXIM, Export-Import Bank
  • FAA, Foreign Assistance Act
  • fas, free alongside ship
  • FAO, Food and Agricultural Organization
  • FCN, Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation (type of treaty)
  • FITC, Foundation for International Technological Cooperation
  • FMS, Foreign Military Sales
  • FONOFF, Foreign Office
  • FRB, Federal Reserve Board
  • FRG, Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)
  • FSF, Financial Support Fund
  • FY, fiscal year
  • G–5, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Japan, United Kingdom, United States
  • G–7, Canada, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States
  • G–8, Australia, Canada, European Economic Community, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States (Conference on International Economic Cooperation); Can__ada, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Community (annual industrialized country economic summits)
  • G–10, Belgium, Canada, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States
  • G–19, Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia (Conference on International Economic Cooperation)
  • G–77, Group of 77, developing countries group established at the conclusion of the first United National Conference on Trade and Development in 1964
  • GATT, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
  • GDR, German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
  • GE, General Electric
  • GM, General Motors
  • GNP, gross national product
  • GOJ, Government of Japan
  • GOM, Government of Mexico
  • Group B, developed country negotiating group in the Common Fund or United Nations Conference on Trade and Development negotiations
  • GSA, General Services Administration
  • GSP, Generalized System of Preferences
  • H, Congressional Relations, Department of State
  • HEW, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
  • HMG, Her Majesty’s Government (United Kingdom)
  • H.R., House of Representatives bill
  • HUD, Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • IBM, International Business Machines
  • IBRD, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  • ICA, international commodity arrangement; International Communication Agency
  • ICSID, International Center for the Settlement of International Disputes
  • IDA, International Development Association
  • IDB, Inter-American Development Bank
  • IDCA, International Development Cooperation Agency
  • IDLI, international development lending institution
  • IDS, International Development Strategy
  • IEA, International Energy Agency
  • IETG, International Energy Technology Group
  • IFAD, International Fund for Agricultural Development
  • IFC, International Finance Corporation
  • IFI, international financial institution
  • ILO, International Labor Organization
  • IMF, International Monetary Fund
  • IMG, International Monetary Group
  • INFCE, International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation Program
  • INR, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • IO, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State
  • IPC, Integrated Program for Commodities
  • IRS, Internal Revenue Service
  • ISA, International Security Affairs (Department of Defense); International Sugar Agreement
  • ISAC, Industry Sector Advisory Committee
  • ISTC, Institute for Scientific and Technological Cooperation
  • ITC, International Trade Commission
  • IWA, International Wheat Agreement
  • JCS, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • JFY, Japanese fiscal year
  • LDC, less developed country
  • LDP, Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
  • LLDC, landlocked developing country; least developed country
  • LOS, Law of the Sea
  • mbd, million barrels per day
  • MBFR, Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions
  • MDB, multilateral development banks
  • memcon, memorandum of conversation
  • MFA, Multifiber Arrangement
  • MFN, most favored nation
  • MITI, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Japan)
  • MNE, multinational enterprise
  • MOF, Minister of Finance; Ministry of Finance
  • mpg, miles per gallon
  • mtg, meeting
  • MTN, multilateral trade negotiations
  • NAC, National Advisory Council
  • NAM, Non-Aligned Movement; National Association of Manufacturers
  • NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • NIEO, New International Economic Order
  • NIH, National Institutes of Health
  • NPT, Non-Proliferation Treaty
  • NRC, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  • NSC, National Security Council
  • NSF, National Science Foundation
  • NTM, non-tariff measure
  • NTT, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
  • ODA, official development assistance
  • OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • OMA, orderly marketing agreement
  • OMB, Office of Management and Budget
  • OPEC, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
  • OPIC, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
  • OSTP, Office of Science and Technology Policy
  • para, paragraph
  • PD, Presidential Directive
  • PL, Public Law
  • PL 480, Food for Peace (formally Public Law 83–480, the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954)
  • PRC, People’s Republic of China; Policy Review Committee
  • PRM, Policy Review Memorandum
  • R&D, research and development
  • R, Republican
  • reftel, reference telegram
  • SA, substitution account
  • SALT, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
  • SBA, Small Business Administration
  • SDR, special drawing rights
  • SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission
  • SECTO, designation for a message sent from the Secretary of State
  • septel, separate telegram
  • S/P, Policy Planning Staff
  • SPD, Social Democratic Party (Federal Republic of Germany)
  • SPR, SPRO, Strategic Petroleum Reserve
  • SSA, Security Supporting Assistance
  • S&T, science and technology
  • STABEX, Système de Stabilisation des Recettes d’Exportation (European Community)
  • STR, Office of the Special Trade Representative
  • TOGOV, designation for a message sent to the Governor
  • TOSEC, designation for a message sent to the Secretary of State
  • TPC, Trade Policy Committee
  • TPM, trigger price mechanism
  • TPSC, Trade Policy Staff Committee
  • UAE, United Arab Emirates
  • UAW, United Auto Workers
  • UK, United Kingdom
  • UN, United Nations
  • UNCSTD, United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development
  • UNCTAD, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  • UNDP, United Nations Development Programme
  • UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
  • UNGA, United Nations General Assembly
  • UNICEF, United Nations Children’s Fund
  • UNIDO, United Nations Industrial Development Organization
  • USDel, United States delegation
  • USEC, United States Mission to the European Community
  • USED, United States Executive Director (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; International Monetary Fund)
  • USG, United States Government
  • USITC, United States International Trade Commission
  • USTR, Office of the United States Trade Representative
  • VAT, value added tax
  • VW, Volkswagen
  • WARC, World Administrative Radio Conference
  • WCARRD, World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development
  • WFC, World Food Council
  • WHO, World Health Organization
  • XCSS, Executive Committee, Special Session (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)