You do not need to hide behind the Attorney General. I am just a little lawyer, I would not.

Secretary DULLES. I appreciate the compliment of being a great lawyer. I would put it in the past tense. I was a great lawyer but I have given up the practice of law.

Senator KERR. I want to tell you, you are the first man I even thought would intimate and you are the last man I would designate as a has-been.

Secretary DULLES. But I think you would admit, Senator, that I am not engaged in the practice of law at the present time, and I do in these matters rely upon the opinion of the Attorney General.

Senator KERR. Are you telling me you have no opinion or you do not want to give me the benefit of it?

Secretary DULLES. I would say to you, I have not made any independent investigation of my own as to the constitutionality

Senator KERR. At the time when you were a great lawyer [laughter], was it your opinion that Congress could by legislative enactment increase the power that it had under the Constitution?

Secretary DULLES. I do not think that Congress can by legislation gain powers not vested in it by the Constitution, no.

Senator KERR. Do you think on the other hand, that Congress can, by its legislative action, deprive itself of a power and a responsibility placed upon it by the Constitution?

Secretary DULLES. No.

Senator KERR. Then, as I understand section 6, it refers to procedure in connection with matters investigated and reported upon by the Tariff Commission; is that correct?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir.

Senator KERR. It says:

The action so found and reported by the Commission to be necessary shall take effect (as provided in the first sentence, paragraph (1), or in paragraph (3), as the case may be)

(A) if approved by the President

I am reading now from the bill.
Secretary DULLES. Yes.

Senator KERR (reading):

or,

(B) if disapproved by the President in whole or in part, upon the adoption by both Houses of the Congress (within the sixty-day period following the date on which the report referred to in the second sentence of paragraph (1) is submitted to such committees), by the yeas and nays by a two-thirds vote of each House, of a concurrent resolution stating in effect that the Senate and House of Representatives approve the action so found and reported by the Commission to be necessary. That is the Tariff Commission, is it not? Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir.

Senator KERR. If you entered into a trade agreement, Mr. Secretary, do you think Congress could pass a law which voided it? Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir. Assuming it was

Senator KERR. If they passed that law and it was vetoed by the President and they came back and passed it over his veto by a twothirds vote it would be just as effective as if he signed it?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir.

Senator KERR. Well, isn't that all that section 6 provides?

Secretary DULLES. It gives, I would say, a privileged status to that type of legislation; yes, sir.

Senator KERR. You think that if Congress has it under the Constitution it needs section 6 to give it to it?

Secretary DULLES. I think that the procedures, the congressional procedures that are envisaged by

Senator KERR. Aren't there congressional procedures now for the enactment of legislation?

Secretary DULLES. Yes; but they do not have this

Senator KERR. Do you think that this section can impair them? Secretary DULLES. No.

Senator KERR. I do not either. I do not think it can enlarge upon them.

Secretary DULLES. It can, I think, Senator, give a privileged status to certain types of legislation.

Senator KERR. Well, how do you mean now, Mr. Secretary?

It looks to me like it attempts to limit the procedural functioning of the Congress, because it says

upon the adoption by both Houses of the Congress within the sixty-day period following the date on which the report referred to in the second sentence of paragraph (1) is submitted to these committees.

Secretary DULLES. Excuse me, Senator, I was interrupted.

Senator KERR. I say it looks to me like, if it were effective, it might impair the functional operations of the Congress.

Secretary DULLES. This does not take away any power of the Congress to act in normal processes of passing legislation.

Senator KERR. But for them to get relief under this section they would have to do it within 60 days?

Secretary DULLES. But they could do it after 60 days.

Senator KERR. Without this?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir.

Senator KERR. And they could do it within 60 days without this if they wanted to?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir; but there is a difference in the procedure.

Senator KERR. What is the difference?

Secretary DULLES. Because if you act without this procedure, you would have to pass the legislation, it would go to the President. It would, let us assume, be vetoed by the President, and have to come back again and be repassed. This cuts short

Senator KERR. This is an act already vetoed by the President.
Secretary DULLES. No, sir.

Senator KERR. Oh, yes, he has disapproved the report of the congressional agencies.

Secretary DULLES. That is true, but he has not vetoed an act of Congress.

Senator KERR. That is true, but you fix it here so that it would be as difficult for Congress to change the President's decision with reference to an action by the Tariff Commission as it is for Congress to implement its own legislation if vetoed by the President?

Secretary DULLES. This is not exclusive procedure, Senator. You can use any other procedures that you have.

Senator KERR. Well

Secretary DULLES. If you do not find this an added advantage in giving this privileged status to your legislation you can do it another

way.

You can take it away

Senator KERR. That is the question I was raising, it neither giv nor takes. The Bible says "The Lord giveth and the Lord take

away.

I do not think so far as this legislation is concerned, it does eith do you?

Secretary DULLES. Well, I do not read the mind of the Lord in t respect. [Laughter.]

Senator KERR. No, but you can read this act.

Secretary DULLES. But you are quoting the Lord. [Laughter.] Senator KERR. No; I was quoting the Bible. [Laughter.] TH was a statement about the Lord, not by Him. [Laughter.] As s nificant as I think the quoter is.

Would you tell us, Mr. Secretary, as a matter of information h many reciprocal trade agreements are now in existence under t legislation?

Secretary DULLES. There are 37 adherents to the general agr

ment.

Senator KERR. In order for that to be informative to me, you w have to explain it.

Secretary DULLES. Well, there is a general agreement of a mul lateral character negotiated which gives equal status to all of t participants, and that is

Senator KERR. Are you talking about GATT?

Secretary DULLES. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Tra Senator KERR. That is what we more or less uninformed call GAT is it not?

Secretary DULLES. Well, I would not say you were uninformed. Senator KERR. You have heard it referred to as that?

Secretary DULLES. Well, I have never been there, I have seen it have never put my hands on it. I have just heard it called the Gener Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Senator KERR. We call it GATT and we Democrats have a leani toward alphabetical designations.

Secretary DULLES. Yes; I understand it.

Senator KERR. And I must say you boys have picked it up and do pretty well with it.

But what I would like to know is how many trade agreements th Nation is signatory to.

That is a good word, isn't it?

Secretary DULLES. All right. We are signatory to, I would sa approximately 7 or 8, of which 1 is a multilateral agreement and t others are bilateral agreements.

Senator KERR. Well, if there are just 7 or 8, there are not too ma of either. If the total is 7 or 8.

Senator ANDERSON. But 34 in one.

Senator KERR. That is what I am trying to find out.
Secretary DULLES. I tried to put it that way, Senator.

Senator KERR. Tell me this: How many nations do we opera

with on the basis of trade agreements?

Secretary DULLES. Well, forty odd.

Senator KERR. Forty odd?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir.

Senator KERR. When were they made, generally what is the dat

Secretary DULLES. The basic agreement was made in 1947. Senator KERR. Well, now this act was first passed in 1934, was it not?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, there was another agreement

Senator KERR. Weren't there a number of agreements negotiated under that authority?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir.

Senator KERR. Have they been renegotiated?

Secretary DULLES. They have been transmuted, you might say. Senator KERR. You mean kind of renewed and renegotiated maybe, in a different form but extended in principle?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir.

Senator KERR. Well, now, what is the duration of those agreements?

When do they expire?

Secretary DULLES. They do not have any fixed termination date. Senator KERR. They have to be, on the basis of the content of the language, for some period of time?

Secretary DULLES. They have indefinite duration but also they are subject to termination in various events. They can be denounced.

Senator KERR. Have you told me that when a contract or trade agreement is made it stays in effect until positive action terminating it has been taken by one or both parties?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir.

Senator KERR. And under what conditions can it be terminated and by whom?

Secretary DULLES. They can be terminated by either party on 6 months' notice.

Senator KERR. Any agreement that we have?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir.

Senator KERR. So that if Congress saw fit not to extend this legislation, we would have these forty-odd agreements which would stay in effect until one of the nations under the terms of the contract gave the 6-month notice and terminated it?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir.

Senator KERR. What is referred to when you use the term "mostfavored-nation clauses"?

Secretary DULLES. That a nation is entitled to get the same trade benefits that are extended to any other nation.

Senator KERR. We had agreements that were called most-favorednation agreements or agreements in which there were favored-nation clauses long before we had the reciprocal trade agreement, didn't we? Secretary DULLES. Yes.

Senator KERR. And under those agreements, one or more, any or all, we make an agreement, say, with Mexico whereby we get certain concessions and they get certain concessions from us, and in addition to those specified, we put in a clause that trade concessions in any agreement we make with any other nation are automatically available to Mexico.

Is that a valid example of the operation of such an agreement?
Secretary Dulles. Yes, that is roughly accurate; yes, sir.

Senator KERR. Now we had a trade agreement with Mexico, didn't we, Mr. Secretary, some time in the past?

Secretary Dulles. Yes.

Senator KERR. Do we have one now?

Secretary DULLES. No, we do not, I understand.

Senator KERR. How did that come about that we no longer have one?

Secretary DULLES. It was terminated by joint agreement with the Mexicans.

Senator KERR. It was terminated by Mexico and thereby we lost all concessions that we had obtained when we entered into the agreement?

Secretary DULLES. Yes, sir.

Senator KERR. Well, did we have and do we have in existence a favored-nation agreement with Mexico?

Secretary DULLES. I think not.

Senator KERR. Other than that trade agreement?

Secretary DULLES. No, sir.

We have none.

Senator KERR. Is there any nation with whom we have had both a favored-nation agreement and a trade agreement with reference to which the trade agreement has expired and the favored-nation agreement is still in effect?

Secretary DULLES. I do not know of any.

Senator KERR. Are you in a position to say there is none?

Secretary DULLES. No, I am not, because I cannot keep track of all these things.

Senator KERR. I know you cannot. I know you can't. I am just seeking information.

Secretary DULLES. I think I would have to ask you for the privilege of supplementing my testimony after I can check with some of my experts on that point.

Senator KERR. All right. If you want to check I would be happy to have you recheck the matter of the continued existence of our favored nation agreement with Mexico.

It was not executed simultaneously with the trade agreement; was it?

Secretary DULLES. I don't know.

Senator KERR. Does your pretty fair source of information there know?

Mr. METZGER. We do not have a MFN commitment for Mexico. The CHAIRMAN. Will you identify yourself?

Mr. METZGER. My name is Metzger, Stanley D. Metzger.

We do not have a most-favored-nation treaty commitment or trade agreement with Mexico.

Senator KERR. Isn't it a fact Mexico has the right of trading with us as any other nation?

Mr. METZGER. Yes, sir, because the act requires it.

Senator KERR. What act?

Mr. METZGER. The Trade Agreements Act.

Senator KERR. You mean this that we are about to extend?

Mr. METZGER. Right.

Senator KERR. Which requires us to give to any nation any concession we give to any other nation?

Mr. METZGER. That is correct. Except for the Iron Curtain countries and a couple of other exceptions which are not applicable

to