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.
“The Advance”7 pages
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
## SECRET Poland receives special treatment under the present Department of Commerce regulations. All items not on the "Positive List" may be exported to Poland under general license, except for certain enumerated items. The expansion of export controls against the Soviet bloc including a total embargo on exports could be accomplished by the Department of Commerce within the above-described framework. In addition, all imports from bloc countries could be embargoed by the issuance by the Treasury Department, under Section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act, of regulations similar to those presently in effect which prohibit all trade with Communist China and North Korea. A total trade embargo would not violate any legal obligations owed by the United States to the Soviet bloc countries other than Poland. By prohibiting all exports to the latter country, however, the United States could be in violation of its commitments to sell certain farm products to the Polish Government under any surplus agricultural commodities agreements then in force. With respect to our obligations under the GATT, Czechoslovakia is the only bloc country which is a GATT member, and the United States severed all relations with that Government under the Agreement in 1951. On November 16, 1960, a Declaration on relations between Poland and the contracting parties to GATT entered into force, but it is in general an expression of hope of future expansion of trade and does not impose any obligations on the United States vis-a-vis Poland. 6. Seize Soviet bloc assets in the United States. Discussion. Section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act provides in part as follows: *During the time of war or during any other period of national emergency declared by the President, ... ## ```markdown ``` ...any property or interest of any foreign country or national thereof shall vest, when, as, and upon the terms, directed by the President, in such agency or person as may be designated from time to time by the President, and upon such terms and conditions as the President may prescribe such interest or property shall be held, used, administered, liquidated, sold, or otherwise dealt with in the interest of and for the benefit of the United States, and such designated agency or person may perform any and all acts incident to the accomplishment or furtherance of these purposes; ..." As pointed out in the discussion of countermeasure A-2, the national emergency declaration of December 16, 1950 is still in effect.
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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.