Documents / FOIA release
This Top Secret study by the Interdepartmental Coordinating Group on Germany and Berlin, dated July 12, 1961, and released by the Central Intelligence Agency, answers NSC Directive No. 58 of June 30, 1961. It sets out courses of action for the Berlin crisis but does not judge their merits. It covers imminent presidential decisions, a three-phase timetable running to January 1, military preparations and mobilization, covert action, economic sanctions, public information, negotiating positions and checkpoint procedures for East German personnel.
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## SECRET On the basis of the foregoing, it can be concluded that refusal to charter shipping to Soviet bloc countries could be accomplished by the issuance of appropriate Treasury Department regulations and Commerce Department Transportation Orders. This action would not involve any violation by the United States of legal obligations owed to those countries. 3. Close United States ports to Soviet bloc shipping. Discussion. This countermeasure presents no problems of legality and has, in fact, already been put into effect in large part. Under the authority of the Act of August 9, 1950 relating to the regulation of the anchorage and movement of vessels in United States territorial waters during periods when the security of the United States is endangered (50 U.S.C. 191), the President on May 21, 1958, approved a program for the protection of ports. Although providing somewhat different procedures for different ports, depending principally on their importance, the basic provisions of this program provide for the denial of entry to Sino-Soviet bloc vessels with specific exceptions. The first exception authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to permit the entry of such vessels after consultation with the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, if he then determines that the circumstances justify such entry. In such cases the Secretary of the Treasury is required to prescribe appropriate safeguards. The second exception gives limited rights to Polish passenger ships and to Polish vessels coming to pick up Public Law 480 cargo under the surplus agricultural commodities agreements with that country. B - Countermeasures relating to general trade and commercial relations. 1. Terminate credits to U.S.S.R. and satellites. Discussion. Section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act, discussed supra in connection with countermeasure A-2, provides adequate legal authority for the prohibition of any extensions of credit by persons or firms in the United States to Soviet bloc countries. This prohibition could be effected by the issuance of appropriate regulations by the Department of the Treasury. At the present time, private credits (other than normal short term credits, i.e., up to six months duration) to certain of the Soviet bloc governments are prohibited by the provisions of the Johnson Act (18 U.S.C. 8955). That statute makes it a crime inter alia to extend a loan to any foreign government (not a member of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund) or political subdivision thereof or any organization or association acting for or on behalf of a foreign government while it is in default in the payment of its obligations to the United States. Consequently, those Soviet bloc countries
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 163 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.