She pee: | A ea the orbiting of the U. S. satellite "Explorer"; and the situation in North Africa. a 3. U. 8. ECONOMIC DEFENSE POLICY (ws 5708/3; NSc Actions Nos. 1780 and 1854) Secretary Dulles said that while he had been at the meeting in Ankara, he had had a lengthy conversation with U. K. Foreign Secretary Lloyd, who had indicated that the British Government feels that it is imperative to undertake a complete review of the philosophy underlying our controls of materials going to the USSR. Lloyd had argued that the Soviet Union was now a very powerful industrial state which was quite capable itself of waging economic warfare. Therefore, it was out of date for the Western powers to try to prevent the USSR from becoming an industrial power by the restrictions we placed on trade. Lloyd felt that we should, of course, maintain our controls over items of clear military importance; but that anything like an economic blockade was out-dated. All that we gained was a reservoir of 111 will in the allied countries, an i11 will which was not counterbalanced by any security gains. Secretary Dulles said that Lloyd recognized that the review he was proposing should be made at a high level. Secretary Dulles then expressed the view that the United States should review its own position prior to the COCOM meeting in March. He added that he was personally inclined to feel that there was e good deal in Lloyd's point of view. The President added that his views on the futility of much of our trade controls were too well known to need restatement. General Cutler suggested that the review of U. S. policy on COCOM controls be undertaken by the Council on Foreign Economic Policy, which would then present its reconmendations to the National Security Conncil. Secretary Dulles pointed out that the U. S. position must be determined at least by the first of March, and that the process was bound to be controversial. The National Security Council: a. Noted and discussed an oral report by the Secretary of State on his conversations with the U. K. Foreign Secretary with respect to the United Kingdom's position favoring extensive revisions of the COCOM multilateral trade controls. -~ 6 = Sofa te TOP SECRET + wl . Papers, 1953-61 | ' ¢. Ann Whitman file) Sisenhower: