Office of the Historian

42. Memorandum From Henry Nau of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Allen)1

Washington, September 4, 1981

SUBJECT

  • Global Negotiations (GNs) Options Paper

The options paper on Global Negotiations (GNs), which I have not attached (too long), develops five options for Cabinet decisionmaking.2

The first two options assume that we do not support a new forum for negotiations with developing countries (either GNs or an alternative such as a Cancun follow-up or a set of regional meetings) and put emphasis on substantive policies in existing specialized agencies—IMF, GATT and IBRD. They differ in terms of the relative emphasis placed on substance, the first calling for continuation of ongoing improvements in GATT, IMF and IBRD (essentially what’s in the works already) and the second the adoption of significant initiatives in these institutions involving some domestic political and bureaucratic costs (e.g. in the case of a significant trade initiative toward developing countries).

The last three options assume that we support a new forum and seek to adapt it to our purposes. The first calls for a return to GNs to seek better terms; the second the pursuit of an alternative to GNs in the form of a Cancun follow-up (a sort of reincarnation of CIEC except at heads of state level) or a set of regional meetings (favored now by some in State); and the third for the simultaneous pursuit of both GNs and an [Page 136] alternative forum (assumes that an alternative forum might serve as a check on GNs or eventually substitute for GNs).

This issue is appropriate, I feel, for NSC consideration, if Treasury and others could be invited to the meeting. On the other hand, the NSC agenda may be quite full for the next several weeks and this matter should be considered as early as possible. A decision on where to consider it should be made at the September 8 Cancun meeting with Haig, Regan and Meese.3

  1. Source: Reagan Library, Douglas McMinn Files, Subject Files, Global Negotiations. No classification marking. Sent for information. Sent through Bailey.↩
  2. A copy of a draft of the undated options paper on Global Negotiations is in the Reagan Library, Douglas McMinn Files, Economic Summit Files, Mexico—General; NLR–369–11–16–7–6. Nau forwarded the paper to Bolton, Jim Fox, Mike Fry, Ernest Johnston, Tom Leddy, and Streeb under a September 4 covering memorandum.↩
  3. Minutes of the meeting were not found; however, Nau reported that the Department had called off the meeting; see Document 43.↩