U.S. Wants Bigger Aid Efforts From Europe

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29102, 14 January 1960, Page 9

U.S. Wants Bigger Aid Efforts From Europe

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) Rec. 11 p.m.) PARIS, January 13. Delegates from 13 Western countries meeting in Paris today will begin to discuss American proposals for increased European aid to underdeveloped countries and for putting American exports on an equal footing with those of European countries. The American Government feels that Western Europe has now made up the ravages of the 1939-45 war largely with the help of United States funds sufficiently to end discrimination against dollar goods and take a bigger part in the Western effort to help poorer countries.

The problem was brought to a head by an American balance of payments deficit in 1959 of about 4000 million dollars. The American proposals were made yesterday by the Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs (Mr Douglas Dillon) at the ' opening session of the economic conference in Parts.

Mr Dillon’s proposals were kept secret, but American officials said he had also suggested: an expansion of the 18-nation Organisation for European Economic Co-operation to include the United States and Canada as full working members; a group of seven capital-exporting Western countries to organise aid to under-developed countries, and a preparatory group of three experts to work out consultative machinery to deal with trade and aid.