saying is that under your own testimony the 1-year extension did not shake the confidence of the world in our intention to stay with reciprocal trade.

Mr. THORP. Well, as a matter of fact, I suppose one way of getting countries in to sign would have been to say, "We are going to discontinue this policy after a few months."

Senator MILLIKIN. I assume, then, that we may argue that we should not have more than another 1-year extension. Would that help you with your other 11 countries?

Mr. THORP. I think the other countries seem to be quite prepared to go ahead under the program. What I am concerned with is the fact that other countries are concerned about the degree to which they should proceed in the direction of reducing trade barriers, or should move in the direction of more use of quotas, and things of that sort. And if there are suggestions made to them that the United States has real qualms with respect to its general line of trying to develop the expansion of world trade, that has repercussions in many ways; not merely in the negotiation of agreements, but in their general policies. Senator MILLIKIN. Let us see what some of those repercussions are. As to the countries that were in the multilateral Geneva agreement, how many of them have abandoned their quotas, their import licenses, their exchange controls, since they joined? Not one. I suggest not one. Does that carry certain significance to your mind?

Mr. THORP. I would be inclined to think that that was correct factually. I have not checked it through.

Senator MILLIKIN. Last year we had a list prepared, I think by the State Department, of the import controls of various types, quotas, quantitative restrictions, licenses, exchange angles. Will you get that down to date and put it into the record?

Mr. THORP. Yes, sir.

(The material referred to is as follows:)

Summary of import license and exchange control regulations in principal foreign

countries

See footnotes at end of table.

Summary of import license and exchange control regulations in principal foreign countries-Continued

Yes; obtainable for "essentials" only. Yes; issued simultaneously with the

Summary of import license and exchange control regulations in principal foreign countries-Continued

1 American exporters may obtain information regarding the import controls on their products by writing the Areas Division or one of the field offices of the Department of Commerce.

All exchange transactions amounting to more than 20,000 cruzieros require an exchange permit from the Banco do Brazil.

3 Details of China's import and exchange controls may be obtained from the Far East Branch of the Office of International Trade.

The importer buys his dollar exchange on the basis of the daily free market rate.

5 Importers must conclude a contract for purchase of exchange with the Bank of Paraguay before purchasing abroad.

6A foreign Funds Control Office is established in Manila, but blanket licenses are issued to banks for exchange transactions by bona fide firms.

Source: Prepared in the Areas Division, Office of International Trade, Department of Commerce.

Senator MILLIKIN. To sum up: So far, the reciprocal trade program has not resulted in the abandonment by any country in this world of the things that we claim are the principal hurdles of their trade. Is that right? That is an easy one to answer. Just produce

the ones that have abandoned those restrictions.

Mr. THORP. I don't think that would be the only element in such an answer. One has to consider not merely the immediate behavior of countries beset by immediate problems, but their longer range objec

tives as they may appear. And I do think that, for example, it is exceedingly important that in connection with the agreement among the European countries, in the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, they included as one of their basic propositions that they would work together to lower the barriers of trade not only among themselves, but with other countries.

Now, the distinction that one has to make, I think, is a distinction between emergency actions taken on what we all hope are temporary conditions, and the degree to which these countries, looking ahead, will do their long-range planning, and bend their long-range efforts toward an improved situation in terms of the freer flow and interchange of goods.

Senator MILLIKIN. At our last hearing you supplied us with a list of the bilateral agreements in the world as then existent. There is a large flock of them between Russia and the western countries. There were at that time agreements between Great Britain and some of the Scandinavian countries. Now I understand they are promoting bilateral agreements between the western European countries as a part of the ECA program. Is that correct?

Mr. THORP. I don't know that they are promoting them.

Senator MILLIKIN. Oh, they definitely are supposed to promote them. They are definitely supposed to do that. I do not know that they are either, but I am going to find that out.

Mr. THORP. Bilateral agreements?

Senator MILLIKIN. Agreements between those western countries to throw down their trade barriers, to get their finances in sound condition, to open up the countries to free interchange. You know about that; do you not?

Mr. THORP. Yes.

Senator MILLIKIN. Now, will you give us a list of the agreements along that line that have actually been accomplished?

Mr. THORP. Yes, sir.

Senator MILLIKIN. Do you know of any that have actually been. accomplished?

Mr. THORP. Well, there are such new arrangements as that among Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxemburg.

Senator MILLIKIN. Yes. Are they operating?

Mr. THORP. They started before the European recovery program got under way, and they are in part operating under them at the present time.

Senator MILLIKIN. Are not France and Italy, for example, trying to work up an agreement?

Mr. THORP. France and Italy have been negotiating an agreement, but it has not yet gone before the Parliament in either country for consideration.

Senator MILLIKIN. To sum up, then: You will give us the up-to-theminute information on all of these bilateral agreements or those localized agreements.

Mr. THORP. May I ask, in order to be sure that we provide you with the material that you want: Of course, there are throughout the world at the present time a tremendous number of bilateral agreements for the bartering of goods as between countries.

Senator MILLIKIN. That is right. I want all of those. You have given them to us before. It will be no task. Bring them down to date. Bring us down to date on any bilateral or multilateral agreements that are confined to western Europe. Give us the whole picture of tariff and trade agreements that are not generalized over the whole world. Give us the entire picture.

Mr. BROWN. You want the inclusion of reference to the customs unions in effect?

Senator MILLIKIN. That is right.

One of the purposes of the reciprocal-trade system was to generalize over all of the participating countries all of the benefits in operation. Mr. THORP. That is right.

Senator MILLIKIN. How is that consistent with what you are talking about in Europe, these bilateral and locally limited agreements? Mr. THORP. Well, what it does is to put an obligation on these countries that in developing bilateral agreements they will proceed in such a way as not to discriminate.

Senator MILLIKIN. Yes. Now, will you have notations on that list of items that you are going to get up for us, as to those which do generalize their benefits and those which do not.

Mr. BROWN. May I ask a question?

Senator MILLIKIN. Yes; surely.

Mr. BROWN. In the nature of a customs union, of course, it does not generalize the benefit.

Senator MILLIKIN. That is right.

Mr. BROWN. It creates a much larger free-trade area.

Senator MILLIKIN. It would be very interesting to have the complete picture of what is generalized and what is not generalized. Because our primary purpose, in the advancement of the reciprocaltrade program, was to break down all of these local agreements. I think you will find that they have immensely increased, which perhaps we cannot attribute entirely to the reciprocal trade system, but when we think of that also it suggests that we should not make overclaims for the reciprocal trade system.

Senator JOHNSON. Senator, did you ask for a list of the increases? Senator MILLIKIN. No; I did not; and I will be glad to ask for it right now. Let us have that also.

(The following information was subsequently supplied :)

BILATERAL AGREEMENTS

The general subject of bilateral agreements that affect world trade was dealt with in detail in a memorandum placed in the record of the 1947 hearings of this Committee on the Trade-Agreements System and the Proposed International Trade Organization Charter (exhibit X, beginning on p. 1250, pt. 2 of the hearings). The lists of agreements in that exhibit have been brought up to date so far as possible in the accompanying memorandum.

So far as is known, agreements of this special type do not contain tariff or other provisions comparable to "concessions" as the term is used in connection with the reciprocal trade agreements negotiated by the United States. Therefore, the question of whether the provisions of these special agreements are "generalized" is not applicable. As a rule, these agreements relate to the exchange of specified commodities-sometimes by specified quantities or values, to clearing arrangements, to exchange controls, to import-license restrictions, etc. The bilateral agreements between the United States and the countries receiving aid under the ECA do not contain tariff provisions.