mendation for remedial action. Three of the Commissioners recommended maximum increases in tariffs with quantitative limitations. The other three Commissioners recommended an increase in tariffs to the 1930 rates without quantitative limitations of any kind.

I am suspending my consideration of these recommendations at this time. A final decision will be appropriate after the Congress has completed its consideration during this session of the proposed minerals stabilization plan which was submitted by the Secretary of the Interior with my approval. This plan offers a more effective approach to the problems of the domestic lead and zinc industries, and in view of their urgent needs, it is hoped that the Congress will act expeditiously on this plan to help assure a healthy and vigorous minerals industry in the United States.

Sincerely,

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER.

AUGUST 24, 1957.

THE WHITE HOUSE

The White House today released the following letter from the President to the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives:

Hon. JERE COOPER,

Chairman, Ways and Means Committee,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I appreciate having your letter concerning the administration's proposal for sliding-scale import excise taxes on lead and zine. It is gratifying to know that your committee is giving attention to the distressed condition of the lead and zinc mining industries.

In 1954, as you pointed out, the Tariff Commission recommended higher duties for lead and zinc under the escape clause of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1951. But other means were available at that time both to meet the public need and afford the relief immediately necessary. Such means were found in the program of increased purchases of domestic ores for the stockpile and the barter of surplus agricultural commodities in exchange for foreign lead and zinc. These programs had the advantage of increasing our inventories of these materials as a security measure while, at the same time, removing price depressing excess supplies from the domestic and world market. Recently, however, the attainment of our stockpile goals has necessitated adjustments in these programs, and the problem of distress has reappeared.

As I indicated in my press conference on August 21, my view with respect to maintaining the integrity of section 7 of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1951 is at one with yours and, I am sure, with that of all the members of the House Ways and Means Committee. H. R. 6894, as you know, is the sole exception proposed by this Administration in over 41⁄2 years. In view of this fact, I think you will agree that such exceptions are not proposed lightly.

The special circumstances of this case that suggest the desirability of following the legislative route were set forth by administration witnesses before both your committee and the Senate Finance Committee.

It is understood, of course, that the initiation before the Tariff Commission of an escape-clause proceeding by the industry is available in the last instance. It is my understanding that the industry will take such course if the Congress does not pass the requested legislation. In that event, I would request the Tariff Commission to expedite its consideration of the matter.

You mentioned the possibility of relief through the national security amendment of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1955. Although a continuously productive mining industry is of fundamental importance to the national security, it is deemed appropriate in present circumstances to invoke the relief afforded by the escape clause of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1951 if the Congress does not enact H. R. 6894. The importance of this industry to a strong national defense should, however, not be overlooked.

I share your belief that expansion of foreign trade is in the best interests of the United States and I reiterate my conviction that such an objective can best be implemented by reciprocal trade agreements programs.

Sincerely,

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER.

[Press release August 16, 1957]

CHAIRMAN JERE COOPER OF THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS RELEASES A LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT RELATIVE TO THE ADMINISTRATION'S PROPOSAL FOR A SLIDING SCALE OF IMPORT EXCISE TAXES ON LEAD AND ZINC

Chairman Jere Cooper, Democrat of Tennessee, Committee on Ways and Means, released the attached letter which was delivered today to the President relative to the administration's proposal for the imposition of a sliding-scale of import excise taxes on lead and zinc.

In the letter, Chairman Cooper points out that the President not only has ample authority under existing trade agreements legislation to provide whatever relief he may deem necessary to the lead and zinc industries but that can do so in a more expeditious manner than is provided in the administration's proposal which it submitted to the Congress.

Chairman Cooper stated that the other 14 Democratic members of the Committee on Ways and Means concur fully in the letter.

In the letter to the President, Chairman Cooper states:

"I sincerely urge you to personally review the situation in the lead and zinc industries and the proposal submitted to the Congress. Upon such a review, I am sure you will be convinced, as I am, that you do have ample authority to provide such relief as you deem necessary in the national interest to the lead and zinc industries. I am also confident that you will agree that to bypass the existing provisions of our trade agreements law will undermine the trade agreements program."

Chairman Cooper was here referring to the escape clause provision and the national security amendment. He points out that the administration has not made recourse to these existing provisions.

The letter also refers to the unanimous finding of the Tariff Commission in 1954 that duties be increased on lead and zinc, which was rejected by the President, who gave among other things, the reason that the proposed relief did not meet the needs of these industries. The letter points out that the instant proposal is almost identical to the Tariff Commission's recommendation. Reference is also made to the fact that the State Department submitted a strongly adverse report on almost an identical proposal which was pending before the Committee on Ways and Means in 1953. Chairman Cooper reminds the President that the proposal to provide relief by legislation to the lead and zinc industries is just one of many proposals now pending before the Committee on Ways and Means, and states: "I am confident that you would not want to see the Congress bypass and undermine your present authority under the trade agreements legislation by acting on individual items."

Chairman Cooper made it clear that in making these statements he does not intend to imply that the lead and zinc industries may not need relief.

The PRESIDENT,

The White House.

AUGUST 16, 1957.

MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: I am writing to you in connection with the proposal of the Honorable Fred A. Seaton, Secretary of the Interior, on behalf of the Administration, for the enactment of sliding-scale import excise taxes on lead and zinc.

Although the communication from Secretary Seaton on this subject was not received by the Committee on Ways and Means until June 19, 1957, at a time when the session was far advanced and the committee was diligently following an agenda previously detremined by it, due to the importance of the subject and due to conditions in the lead and zinc industry as depicted by the communication of the Secretary, the committee broke into its agenda and conducted hearings on August 1 and 2, 1957.

I have now had time to carefully review and study the testimony which was presented to the committee at the public hearing on this important subject. It is my sincere conviction that you already have authority, previously delegated to you by the Congress in the trade agreements legislation, to afford relief to domestic industries from import competition in appropriate cases. The testimony of your representatives at the public hearings, in conjunction with the written recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior, indicates that the lead and zinc industries properly constitute such a case in the opinion of the administra

tion. The testimony further shows that your present authority is adequate to afford the relief which you have recommended to the Congress.

As you will recall, one of the principal purposes of the so-called escape-clause provision (section 7 of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1951) and the national-security amendment (section 7 of the Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1955) was to afford you an avenue under which you can provide relief from import competition to domestic industries according to the procedures and standards set forth therein. As may further be recalled, the Committees of the Congress and the Congress in past years have devoted much time, thought, and attention to providing you with these powers so that our domestic industries can be afforded protection in appropriate cases and so that the national interest can be served by presidential action without resort to further legislation.

It is clear that in this instance you have not made recourse to existing administrative procedures which are available to provide relief to these industries. In addition you have not advised the Congress that your existing authority under the escape clause and the national security amendment is inadequate in these matters generally, although a subcommittee of the Committee on Ways and Means last fall specifically called upon the administration for any recommendations which it might have for modifying or strengthening these provisions of existing legislation.

The testimony presented to the Committee on Ways and Means during the course of the public hearings on August 1 and 2, 1957, indicated that the proposal for a sliding-scale import excise tax on lead and zinc is almost identical in major respects with the recommendations of the Tariff Commission made to you under the lead and zinc escape clause proceeding in 1954. You rejected this recommendation, stating among other things, that the proposed relief did not meet the needs of these industries. The testimony of your represetnatives further indicated that the situation today in the lead and zinc industries is substantially the same as it was at the time of the escape-clause investigation by the Tariff Commission and your rejection of the unanimous finding of the Tariff Commission. The testimony at the public hearings also clearly showed that the proposal which the Secretary of the Interior now recommends on behalf of the administration is almost identical in effect to a proposal that was before the Committee on Ways and Means in 1953 and on which a strongly adverse report was submitted by the State Department. The State Department set forth 10 reasons why this proposal was inadvisable and contrary to the national interest. This report was made a part of the recent public hearings.

The proposal which the administration has now recommended would not become effective, in event of its enactment, until January 1, 1958. Yet under the national-security amendment any relief found appropriate could be put into effect by you almost immediately. Also, under the escape clause I see no reason why you cannot direct the Tariff Commission to report to you within a stated time as to measures which it may deem appropriate for relief of these indusrties, and I see no reason why you could not have done so on June 19, the date of the proposal, or even earlier for that matter. It is clear from the testimony presented to our committee, aside from the merits of the proposal, that relief can be afforded by you much more speedily than would be the case even with enactment of the proposal..

As you of course know, I have been a strong and consistent supporter of the reciprocal trade agreements program since the inception of the program in 1934. I have consistently supported and worked for proposals which you have made to continue our foreign trade policies, including, for example, your proposal during the last Congress and in this Congress for approval by the Congress for membership in OTC.

You have gone on record strongly supporting the reciprocal trade agreements program. At your request the Congress has provided three extensions of your authority during your administration. An important consideration of the Congress in providing these extensions was the fact that should trade agreements concessions result in such import competition that domestic industries are injured or are threatened with injury you would have the authority where it is in the national interest to relieve domestic industries of such injury.

I cannot refrain from expressing to you my very great concern as to the impact of a proposal such as the one which your Administration has made concerning lead and zinc on the whole structure of the trade-agreements program. In stating this, I do not intend to imply that the lead and zinc industries may not

need relief. My concern is due to the fact that this proposal would completely bypass existing authority given you in present trade-agreements legislation. You are asking the Congress to do that which you already have ample authority to do. The authority which you have is not selective, but broad and general, and applies to any and all industries which are injured or threatened with injury as a result of trade-agreements concessions. I am sure you are aware of the fact that there are many other industries that are asking for relief from import competition. Among these are textiles, velveteen and ginghams, tunafish, hardwood-plywood, stainless steel flatware, fluorspar, natural gas, petroleum, and many others. There are numerous bills now pending before the Committee on Ways and Means which would provide relief from import competition on the above specified items and many additional ones. I am confident that you would not want to see the Congress bypass and undermine your present authority under trade-agreements legislation by acting on individual items.

I sincerely urge you to personally review the situation in the lead and zinc industries and the proposal submitted to the Congress. Upon such a review, I am sure you will be convinced, as I am, that you do have ample authority to provide such relief as you deem necessary in the national interest to the lead and zinc industries. I am also confident that you will agree that to bypass the existing provisions of our trade-agreements law will undermine the trade-agreements program.

I can only observe in closing that there is considerable sentiment that, in the absence of your exercising such authority as you may have for an expansion of our foreign trade and the protection of domestic industries, the Congress will be forced to study again the delegation of authority made to you under the tradeagreements legislation. This is an eventuality which neither you nor I would contemplate with equanimity.

The other 14 Democratic Members of the Committee on Ways and Means concur with me in this letter.

Very cordially yours,

WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT CONCERNING THE PRESIDENT'S ACTION ON LEAD AND ZINC There is reproduced below the White House announcement concerning the President's action on the Tariff Commission's report with respect to lead and zinc :

[Immediate release, August 20, 1954]

JAMES C. HAGERTY, Press Secretary to the President.

THE WHITE HOUSE

The President today outlined an expanded stockpiling program for strengthening the lead and zinc industry as an integral part of the Nation's defense mobilization base. The President took this action in lieu of accepting the recommendations of the United States Tariff Commission for an increase in the duty on imports of these two metals.

In letters to the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee describing his program and explaining his decision on the Tariff Commission's recommendations, the President said that "a serious question exists as to the magnitude of the direct benefits that could be expected from the recommended tariff increases" and that "since the benefits to be derived from an increase of the tariff on lead and zinc are so uncertain, I am not prepared to seek them at the expense of the serious adverse consequences that would follow for our international relations."

The President stated that he is "taking affirmative steps at this time to strengthen and protect our domestic mobilization base for lead and zinc.” These steps are:

1. Increased purchases at market prices of newly mined domestic lead and zinc under the long-term stockpile program. In this fiscal year the Government could purchase up to 200,000 tons of lead and 300,000 tons of zinc.

2. The acquisition of lead and zinc of foreign origin for the supplemental stockpile authorized by the recently enacted Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act.

3. Action by the Secretary of State to seek recognition by the foreign countries which are principal suppliers of lead and zinc that this increased stockpile buying is designed to help domestic production.

The President said, "The outlook for lead and zinc is improved." He noted that there were some excess stocks at present but said that "it appears that these inventories can be reduced by stockpiling purchases together with a high rate of consumption which is indicated by the general economic outlook.” “In addition," the President said, "the volume of imports thus far this year has been considerably lower than the rate during 1953."

The President concluded his letters by saying that if the course of action he is taking does not accomplish the objectives he seeks, he "will be prepared early next year to consider even more far reaching measures, and to make appropriate recommendations to the Congress."

The text of the President's letters to Chairman Milliken of the Senate Finance Committee and Chairman Reed of the House Ways and Means Committee is as follows:

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In my letter to you of July 19, 1954, I indicated that I was extending somewhat the period of my consideration of the recommendations of the United States Tariff Commission with respect to the escape clause investigation relating to lead and zinc.

Readjustment from war-stimulated levels of prices and production has imposed severe strain on many segments of mining, agriculture and industry. In the case of lead and zinc this readjustment has produced unemployment for miners in some areas and hardships for their families. Some communities in mining States are distressed. An adequate mobilization base is not being maintained.

During the past several weeks, I have held many long meetings with Cabinet officers, members of the Congress, and other informed persons. It is my belief that we must maintain a strong and vigorous domestic mining industry for the production of strategic and critical materials which have important defense uses, and that this should be done in a manner consistent with our general economic and foreign policy objectives.

After a thorough review of the lead-zinc problem, I am convinced that a serious question exists as to the magnitude of the direct benefits that could be expected from the recommended tariff increases. The increase in duties would probably have only a minor effect on the price of lead and zine in this country. There is a real question as to whether the tariff action would have important consequences in reopening closed mines. Moreover, the increase in the tariff would most likely depress the prices of these metals outside the United States. Since the benefits to be derived from the increase of the tariff on lead and zinc are so uncertain, I am not prepared to seek them at the expense of the serious adverse consequences that would follow for our international relations. Lead and zinc are important to several key countries in areas of vital interest. Moreover, it must be recognized that our economy requires substantial quantities of imported lead and zinc to augment domestic production in peacetime, and that the United States relies on nearby friendly nations to assist us in meeting fully our mobilization requirements in wartime.

The Tariff Commission has made a thorough study of the lead and zinc problem but I recognize that it must necessarily confine its consideration within a limited field. Accordingly, after a careful weighing of all of the factors involved in this complex situation, I have decided that to implement the recommendations of the Tariff Commission would not meet the problem nor be in the public interest. However, I am taking affirmative steps at this time to strengthen and protect our domestic mobilization base for lead and zinc.

I am directing the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization to increase purchases at market prices of newly mined domestic lead and zinc under the long-term stockpile program. The Government is in a position where it could purchase in this fiscal year up to 200,000 tons of lead and 300,000 tons of zinc.