The politics of Anglo-American international economic relationships 1941-45

Abstract

The thesis is an attempt to give a detailed historical narrative of a series of negotiations between the U.S. and the U.K. during the period 1941 – 1945. It is an analysis of the political controversies which arose between the two countries over economic issues. There are three main aims to the story. One is to elucidate the reasons for the economic policies pursued by the two countries, the second is the explanation of the modification of such policies and the third is to account for the subtle shifts in bargaining tactics. The account is divided into six chapters. The first chapter deals with a number of issues in an attempt to indicate some of the difference between the two countries over economic policies. The chapter includes brief descriptions of the introduction, by Britain, of economic controls and her early attempts to finance the war effort, the Atlantic Conference of 1941 and U.S.-U.K. talks on a supplement to the 1938 trade agreement. The second chapter covers the consideration for Lend-Lease talks, and chapters three and four the negotiations to establish the I.M.F. The fifth chapter deals with Anglo-American commercial talks and British attempts to have The Export White Paper of 1941 superseded. The final chapter deals with a wide range of economic talks and culminates in a detailed analysis of the talks which resulted in the U.S.-U.K. Financial Agreement of 1946. The narrative has been constructed primarily on the basis of diplomatic correspondence, cabinet and departmental papers from the P.R.O. I have also used 'The Foreign Relations of the U.S.', Hansard, the Congressional Record, both U.S. and U.K. government papers, and an extensive range of autobiographies.