189. Editorial Note
On June 18, 1982, President Ronald Reagan convened the National Security Council in the Cabinet Room at the White House, from 1:15 to 2 p.m., to discuss East-West sanctions. Attendees included the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs William Clark, Director of Central Intelligence William Casey, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldridge, Counselor to the President Edwin Meese, Secretary of the Treasury Donald Regan, Secretary of Energy James Edwards, and Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Geza Feketekuty, who represented U.S. Trade Representative William Brock. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Lawrence Eagleburger represented Secretary of State Alexander Haig. (Reagan Library, President’s Daily Diary)
In his memoir, Haig contended that Clark had purposely scheduled the meeting to coincide with Haig’s meeting with Gromyko at the United Nations in New York City. “As my deputy, Walt Stoessel, was also unavailable, Larry Eagleburger represented the State Department in our place. By now fearful of the worst, but determined that the historical record would show that the State Department had fought for a rational course of policy, I instructed Eagleburger to oppose the extension of sanctions to overseas manufacturers. Eagleburger did so with his usual capability, but when the moment for decision came, Clark placed only the strongest option paper before Reagan, who uncharacteristically approved it on the spot.” (Haig, Caveat, page 312) Handwritten notes at the Reagan Library accord with Haig’s second-hand depiction of the meeting. (Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC: NSC Meeting File: Records, 1981–88, NSC 00051 18 Jun 82)
[Page 626]In a diary entry of June 18, Reagan wrote: “Met to finally decide whether to lift sanctions on pipe line material to Soviets. Cabinet very divided. I ruled we would not remove sanctions. There hadn’t been the slightest move on the Soviets part to change their evil ways.” (Brinkley, ed., The Reagan Diaries, Volume I, pages 137–138) That day, the White House released a statement in Reagan’s name: “I have reviewed the sanctions on the export of oil and gas equipment to the Soviet Union imposed on December 30, 1981, and have decided to extend these sanctions through adoption of new regulations to include equipment produced by subsidiaries of U.S. companies abroad, as well as equipment produced abroad under licenses by U.S. companies.” (Public Papers: Reagan, 1982, page 798) On June 22, Reagan signed National Security Directive Decision 41, which renewed the sanctions on the export of oil and gas equipment to the Soviet Union imposed on December 31, 1981, and extended them “to include equipment produced by subsidiaries of U.S. companies abroad as well as equipment produced abroad under licenses issued by U.S. companies.” (Reagan Library, Myer Files, Oil/Gas Technology/USSR (1))