Evening star., 1947-09-22
Text of Summary of Is Nations Marshall Plan Report

"/N ~ IuS
success of sterilization will, to a very
large extent. depend on adequate
foreign assistance being available
during the period when stabilization
is being achieved. No precise cal
culation can be made of the amount
required without examining the
position of each of the countries
concerned at the time when stabil-
ization is undertaken, but from such
estimates as can be made, the
amount likely to be required would
be of the order of $4,000, 100000.
Maximum Use of Resources.
8. The maximum use will be made
by the participating countries OF
their own raw material resources
manpower and productive capacity
This process will be stimulated by
measures to be taken to secure pro-
gressive relaxation of import re-
strictions to improve payments ar
rangements between the various
countries and to transfer a surplus
labor, an announcement has already
been made about the setting up OF
customs union study group which
will make first report within three
months of its being convened.
The French government has
stated that it is ready to commence
negotiations with all European gov
ernments who wish to enter a GUS
toms union with France and whose
national economies are capable of
being combined with the French
economy in such a way as to make
a viable unit. The Italian govern
ment has associated itself with this
declaration.
9. Apart from mutual help de-
signed to increase supplies Of scarce
commodities and TO increase the
flow of trade between the partici-
pating countries, agreement has
been achieved on collective action
on special problems as follows:
Cd A series of projects is being
developed for common planning of
the exploitation of new sources of
electric power. The plan selected
by the committee provides for the
erection of a series of power plants
to exploit the hydro-electric re-
sources of the Alps, certain German
Ignite deposits and Italian reserves
of geothermic energy. This work
involves the cooperative develop
ment of resources cutting across
frontiers, and the decisions are be-
ing taken without regard to national
frontiers. The common planning
required Is now proceeding.
Standardization Pushed.
CID Encouragement of the stand
ardization of mining and electrical
supplies and freight cars.
Gid Examination of the possibil-
ity of securing the more efficient
use of freight cars by pooling ar
rangements and by international
study of the flows of traffic.
QV Arrangements for the inter-
change Of information by the steel
producing countries about their pro-
grams of modernization and extern
sion so that each country may take
account of plans made by the others.
10. Arrangements have been made
for continuing the work of mutual
help and consultation begun in Paris
both through the United Nations
machinery and in other ways. A
joint organization charged with the
task of reviewing progress made in
the execution of the program is also
contemplated.
II. The report shows that, even
after taking full account of the
supplies which they can produce for
themselves and which they can hope
to obtain from the rest of the world,
the participating countries win re-
quire large quantities of food, fuel,
raw materials and capital equipment
from the American continent. With
out this flow of goods the whole re-
covery program will be in jeopardy.
The requirements stated take ac-
count of the supplies likely to be
available. They do not represent
extravagant importing. Food con-
sumption at the end of the period
will be less than the prewar level
and the estimates are framed on the
basis that in many countries restric-
tions on consumption of food, cloth
ing and gasoline for nonessential
purposes) will continue to be neces-
Sary.
Deficits Are Outlined
u. The scale of the problem is
shown by the combined deficit of
the participating countries and
Western Germany with the Amer
lean continent, which is given in the
following tables. The size of the
deficit is to a large extent attri-
butable to lack of supplies formerly
available from Eastern Europe,
Southeast Asia and other nom
European sources. It may be pos
sible to meet part of the deficit
through the International Bank for
and Reconstruction,
private investment and credit opera
tions and for few countries by the
use of their available assets.
5st 5s4s 4ss 1s4s 5ss 5aso ass 1sSl lssl 1871
Rest Of Amer.
Continent 1.94 1872 1.30 091 bo7
7.5s e.os 4.5s $50 21.7s
Deficit of De-
pend. TER. o.4s o.2s o.7o o1s o.es
Total - s.o4 635 465 $40 22.44
Estimated imports from the
American continent include equip
ment as we'll as commodities such
as food and coal. If imports of
equipment, other than agricultural
and coal mining machin-
cry to which special considerations