_To the Congress of the United States_:
I have the honor to submit herewith the fourth semiannual report
on operations under the Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of
1951 (Battle Act), the administration of which is a part of my
responsibilities.
The period covered is July through December 1953.
A large part of this report is an examination of what the Soviet Union
has been doing in its trade relations with the free world. In order
to put the Russian activities of the last half of 1953 in a more
understandable framework we have ranged back over the last 30 years
to show how foreign trade fits into their economy and serves their
purposes. To study Soviet trends and tactics is obviously important
to the economic defense of the free world. To make a report to the
Congress and the public on these matters should also be useful. There
has been much public interest in the subject.
The selection of this theme, however, does not mean that Soviet trade
activities are the only important consideration to be taken into
account in the formulation of U. S. economic defense policy. They are
not. Many other factors enter in, as told in Chapter V.
In preparing the report my staff has drawn heavily upon the expert
knowledge of the Department of State and other agencies. But of course
the responsibility for the report is ours.
In my last Battle Act report I said that the strategic trade control
program had been hampered by lack of public knowledge. This is
still true, but to a less extent, it seems to me. There is a better
understanding of the Government's policies, a greater realization that
the soundness of East-West trade policy is to be judged not primarily
on the amount of trade, but more on what kind of goods move back and
forth, and on what terms they move.
<signed>
HAROLD E. STASSEN,
_Director, Foreign Operations Administration_.