1 “+ TOP SECRET Nor ae ba ew eos Thereafter, General Cutler briefed the Council in some de- tail on the CFEP position paper (CFEP 566) and the recommendations of the CFEP with respect to the U. S. position in the current COCOM negotiations, particularly as they concerned the U. K. proposal for @ drastic reduction in the existing levels of mitilateral controls on trade with the Sino-Sovilet bloc. General Cutler concluded his briefing by pointing out that the basic issue confronting the United States in the current COCOM negotiations was whether: (1) to be more influenced by the objective of maintaining what the United States considers to be an effective multilateral control system, or (2) to be more influenced by the objective of achieving a unified allied position with respect to the level of multilateral controls (having in mind the possibility of an upcoming Summit Meeting). He also noted that the State and Coumerce Departments, in the CFEP, wished general authority to negotiate downward from the agreed position of the Economic Defense Advisory Committee (EDAC). Defense, on the other hand, wished instead to hold substantially to the EDAC position for the present, and to develop alternatives to the EDAC position only after (a) there had been an attempt to reconcile in- ternational differences at a meeting of the policy-level Consultative Group, and then only after (b) a determination by the Secretary of State that further pursuit of U. S. objectives would endanger important U. S. mutual security relationships. In the course of his briefing, General Cutler also noted the continuing views of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the effect that any further erosion of international trade controls must be viewed as "imposing an increasing threat to our national and col- lective security by virtue of its direct contribution to Bloc mil- itary build-up." (A copy of General Cutler's briefing note, together with a statement entitled "Comparison of Present Interna- tional Control Lists, Lists Proposed by U. K., and Lists Proposed by U. S.", are filed in the minutes of the meeting and attached to this memorandum.) Upon concluding his briefing, General Cutler called first upon Secretary Dulles, who stated that he was dissatisfied with both the position taken by State-Commerce as well as the position taken by the Department of Defense in the discussion of this problem in the CFEP. He therefore wished to present an alternative position, which went further in the direction of liberalization than either of the other two. Secretary Dulles expressed great doubt as to whether the military potential of the Sino-Soviet bloc was appreciably affected by Western controls on trade with the bloc (assuming, of course, that we maintain controls on certain 4 ee generally agreed items). 2 a aaa * < awn By tis £ 3h r # . #5 ee TO ‘: too PRODGEED,A tne « re = ero vb ye ee ee « + pPreene = ew a ete ube ~