Memorandum from Secretary of State Dean Acheson and Paul Hoffman to President Harry S. Truman, with Attachments

Extracted text

OCR Page 1 of 9
ECONOMIC COOPERATION ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON 25, D. C. CABLE ADDRESS ADECA FOR EUROPEAN RECOVERY SUPPLIED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA APR 27 1949 ECA EMBLEM CONFIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT Subject: Economic Aid to China The China Aid Act of 1948 and the related appropriation act made funds available for obligation through April 2, 1949. By Section 12 of P. L. 47, 8lst Congress, approved April 19, 1949, an amount equal to any balance unobligated under that act on April 2, 1949, or subsequently released from obligation, was made available to you for assistance in areas in China which you may deem to be not under Communist domination. In view of the critical conditions in China, it is urgently desirable that the funds made available to you by the above section be authorized for obligation and expenditure and that the flexible provisions of that section be made operative. The situation in China has, among other things, made it necessary to spend U. S. dollars in China for purposes for which local currency would normally be expended. The attached form of letter proposes that you authorize the Administrator for Economic Cooperation to administer the provisions of Section 12. The assistance is to be limited to such areas as the Secretary of State from time to time determines to be not under Communist domination. In furnishing and terminating assistance, the Administrator will act in consultation with the Secretary of State. The advance of the Chinese Communists across the Yangtze River has made it very unlikely that further aid can be provided to Shanghai. The Administrator has already diverted from China all shipments of raw cotton in the ECA program. Approsed S. May 3. 49 The Secrétary of State ARCHIVES SERVICE* RECORDS "NATIONAL AND Concurred: HSX M /M The Administrator 1or Economic Cooperation grank Paufr. DECLASSIFIED E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or Director of Bureau of Budget Dep: of State letter, Aug. 9, 1923 By NLT- He 9 NARS Date 7-20-76