number 1 - Centre d'études et de recherches européennes Robert ...

American Monnetism and the European Coal-Steel Community in the Fifties 35
High Authority in an uncharacteristically sound and decisive move, created a
mechanism to coordinate and level prices as well as regulate supply communitywide;
it re-allocated the German surplus, in return for which the national cartels,
including the reluctant Germans, declared themselves "voluntary organizations".
To complement this set up, the High Authority founded a sole purchasing agency
for imports, which bought only from designated American sellers. 55
In March 1955 the Commerce Department attacked this system on the grounds
that it drained scrap from the US economy, presumably raising prices and causing
shortages 56 and proposed instituting export controls. 57 At his 20 April meeting in
Washington, Coppé warned that such a measure would force the High Authority to
declare an emergency, impose maximum prices, and in general benefit cartelism. 58
On 15 June, "following several months of negotiation," the State Department,
however, registered "a complete victory" over the Commerce Department; the existing
program would continue and export controls not be imposed. 59 The Messina
process apparently had made the difference.
The persistence of shortages nonetheless kept the issue alive for the rest of the
year. René Mayer, Monnet's successor as the CSC president, warned on 9 February
1956 that controls on scrap exports would result in the imposition of emergency
measures for Community coal and steel outputs as well as scrap. 60 In October the
Commerce Department resumed the campaign 61 and in the face of mounting
exports actually suspended export licenses in February of the following year as a
prelude to the introduction of controls. 62 Once again, however, the CSC, assisted
by the State Department, prevailed. The sellers' cartel was abolished and an agency
of the United States government prevented from protecting American interests with
the very methods whose use its money promoted in Europe. 63 The scrapiron
dispute was a final, inglorious chapter in the history of American promotion of
supranationalism during the 1950's. The downdraft that began to blow through the
55. FRUS 1955-1957/IV "Report by the Department of State to the Council on Foreign Economic
Policy", 16 March 1955 (CSC Scrap Importing Arrangements); also J. GILLINGHAM, Coal,
Steel, and the Rebirth of Europe, pp. 323-325.
56. FRUS 1955-1957/IV "Memorandum from the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European
Affairs (Barbour) to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs (Kalijarvi), 28
March 1955".
57. Ibid.
58. FRUS 1955-1957/IV "Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of State, Washington, April
20, 1955".
59. FRUS 1955-1917/IV "Memorandum from Ruth H. Phillips of the Office of European Regional
Affairs to the Director of the Office (Palmer)", 15 June 1955.
60. FRUS 1955-1957/IV "Memorandum of a Conversation, Department of Commerce, February 9,
1957".
61. FRUS 1955-1957 "Memorandum from the Director of the Office of European Regional Affairs
(Timmons) to the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Elbrick)", 4 October
1956.
62. FRUS 1955-1957/IV "Telegram, from the Acting United States Representative to the European
Coal and Steel Community (Boochever) to the Department of State", 21 February 1957.
63. Ibid.