740.00119 (Potsdam)/7-3145
The U.S. Representatives on the Economic Subcommittee to the Secretary of State
[Babelsberg,] August 1 [1945] — 1:00 p.m.
[Extract]
There is attached the Third Report of the Economic Subcommittee to the Foreign Ministers.
With respect to the question of German external assets, the U.S. and U.K. recommended the inclusion in the Economic Principles of the following:
- Appropriate steps shall be taken by the Control Council to exercise control and the power of disposition over German owned external assets not already under the control of United Nations which have taken part in the war against Germany.
We also recommended that appropriate reference to this matter be made in the communiqué.
The Soviet representatives, while stating that they had very little interest in the matter, reserved their position pending a study of the entire problem.
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[Attachment — Extract]
Third Report of the Economic Subcommittee to the Foreign Ministers
The Economic Subcommittee considered the questions of a statement regarding German external assets and an Article 19 of the Economic Principles relating to payment for imports into Germany.
With respect to the question of German external assets, no decision was reached. The Soviet representatives, after a general explanation of the problem had been made, requested fuller information and reserved their position pending the furnishing of such information.
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740.00119 (Potsdam)/7-3145
The U.S. Representatives on the Economic Subcommittee to the Secretary of State
[Babelsberg,] August 1 [1945] — 1:00 p.m.
There is attached the Third Report of the Economic Subcommittee to the Foreign Ministers.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
With respect to Article 19, the discussion indicated that the U.S., U.K. and USSR representatives were all in fact in agreement on two paragraphs:
Payment of reparations should leave sufficient resources to enable the German people to subsist without external assistance.
Payment for imports into Germany approved by the Control Council shall be a first charge against the proceeds of exports out of current production and out of stocks of goods.
We felt that we could not agree to report favorably these two paragraphs alone without insisting that the following be recorded in the protocol: “The above clause will not apply to the equipment and products referred to in paragraphs 4 (a) and 4 (b) of the Reparations Agreement.”
The British representatives indicated that they would concur. When the Soviet representatives refused to agree to a report that would have included a statement of the position of the U.S. representatives in this matter, it became necessary to fail to agree on any part of the subject.
It had been the understanding of the U.K. and U.S. representatives that in the event Article 19 as indicated above had been agreed upon, it would still have been necessary for you and/or the President to indicate that the general Control Council agreement proclaimed June 5 would be operative, that is, if the Control Council failed to agree, each zone commander would still be free to import into his own zone such supplies as his government considered essential, for the payment of which he might assess a first charge on exports from his own zone.
[Attachment — Extracts]
Third Report of the Economic Subcommittee to the Foreign Ministers
The Economic Subcommittee considered the questions of a statement regarding German external assets and an Article 19 of the Economic Principles relating to payment for imports into Germany.
The Subcommittee also failed to reach agreement in the matter of an Article 19 of the Economic Principles.
740.00119 (Potsdam)/7-3145
Report by the Economic Subcommittee
[Babelsberg, August 1, 1945]
[Extract]
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The Soviet representatives reported that they were not yet in a position further to discuss the matter of oil supplies from the East.