Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Ambassador of Great Britain Sir Oliver Franks, George W. Perkins, and Walter Surrey

406384 277 330 Saturday December 17, 1949 Proposed Bilateral Agreements under the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949. Sir Oliver Franks, British Ambessador 6: ARCHIVES SERVICET RECORDS INATIONAL AND Mr. Dean Acheson, Secretary of State Mr. George W. Perkins, Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Mr. Walter S. Surrey, Special Assistant to the Director, to Mutual Defense Assistance Program. s, U, G, S/MDA EUR, BNA, American Embassy, London Sir Oliver stated that he had communicated to his Government the views expressed by me at our meeting on December 14, 1949. I informed him that we had considered very earefully the ways of meeting the major points raised by Sir Oliver in connection with the terms of the bilateral agreement. In connection with these major points, I advised him as follows: (a) Article I, paragraph 4 of the proposed bilateral agreement covering the transfer of military materials to other countries could be limited to the express terms of the Legislation, covering only the trans- fer of the actual materials which we supply to them. (b) With respect to Article 1, paragraph 1, covering mutual assistance, I advised him that we had redrafted this Article to make clear that the British contribution to mutual assistance should not be made to such an extent as would cause a conflict with the principle that economic recovery must have clear priority. I advised Sir Oliver that with these changes I thought that Article 1, paragraph 1 of the proposed draft bilateral agree- ment fully met the British objections as noted by Sir Oliver at his previous meeting. Sir Oliver stated that these changes would be most helpful to his Government in considering the matter. I elaborated further the question which I had discussed at our previous DECLASSIFIED meeting E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or (E) Dept. of State letter, 23.33.75 Bx NLT- HC NARS Date 4.29.76