Special Message to the Congress on Control of Trade in Arms and Munitions of War.

To the Congress of the United States:

I transmit herewith a proposal for legislation to authorize supervision of the exportation of arms, ammunition, implements of war and related commodities, and the importation of arms, ammunition, and implements of war; to provide for the registration, under certain conditions, of manufacturers, exporters, importers, and certain dealers in munitions of war; and to provide for obtaining more adequate information concerning the international traffic in arms. The principal purpose of this proposal is to supersede the present provisions of law in Section 12 of the Neutrality Act of November 4, 1939. For the reasons outlined below it is believed that the Congress will agree that this section of the present law is particularly ineffective in dealing with current problems and that the Congress will wish to take prompt action to enact a new law along the lines proposed herein.

Section 12 of the Neutrality Act provides for: the establishment of a National Munitions Control Board; the administration of the provisions of that section by the Secretary of State; the registration of those engaged in the business of manufacturing, importing or exporting arms, ammunition, and implements of war; the conditions under which export and import licenses may be issued; the reports which the National Munitions Control Board shall make to the Congress; and the determination by the President of what articles shall be considered arms, ammunition, and implements of war. Reports of the activities carried on by the Department of State pursuant to Section 12 for the years 1941 to 1946, inclusive, have been submitted to assist the Congress in its consideration of the legislation now suggested. Operations prior to 1941 are contained in the first to sixth Annual Reports of the National Munitions Control Board.

The proposed legislation contemplates continuing certain of the essential aspects of Section 12 of the Neutrality Act, particularly those pertaining to the administrative framework of the controls now exercised. However, it is different in its objective and it proposes a more flexible and efficient administration.

The present system of supervising this country's international traffic and trade in arms and munitions of war was conceived during a period of neutrality and with the view to remaining out of war. To achieve this end the successive Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1937, and 1939 were founded on the principle of impartiality toward all who would secure munitions from us regardless of their motives. As long as Section 12 of the Neutrality Act is in effect that requirement of impartiality is still the law and the Secretary of State must treat aggressor and aggrieved, peacemaker and troublemaker equally by granting every application for a license for the exportation of any arms, ammunition, or implements of war unless such action would be in violation of a treaty. Such a provision of law is no longer consistent with this country's commitments and requirements. We have committed ourselves to international cooperation through the United Nations. If this participation is to be fully effective this Government must have control over traffic in weapons which will permit us to act in accordance with our position in the United Nations and will be adaptable to changes in the international situation. Therefore, there must be new legal provisions enabling the exercise of discretion in the granting or rejecting of applications for export or import licenses for arms, ammunition, and implements of war and related items.

Weapons and implements of war are material weights in the balance of peace or war and we should not be legally bound to be indiscriminate in how they are placed in the scales. If war should ever again become imminent, it would be intolerable to find ourselves in our present position of being bound by our own legislation to give aid and support to any power which might later attack us. The proposed legislation is designed to permit in normal times of peace control over traffic in arms or other articles used to supply, directly or indirectly, a foreign military establishment, and in times of international crisis, to permit control over any article the export of which would affect the security interests of the United States.

The exercise of discretion necessarily requires a revision of the administration of the controls presently in operation. The suggested legislation provides for the exercise of discretion in the types of licenses which may be used, and in determining the activities which may be subject to registration. The new proposal differs from Section 12 in as much as it permits the issuance of various types of licenses designed to take into account under what circumstances and in what quantities the export of the articles covered by the proposed bill should be subject to control. The purpose of this procedure is to permit freedom of trade in items of a purely commercial nature.

With regard to the registration requirements it should be noted that under the present law anyone engaged in manufacturing, exporting or importing any of the articles defined as arms, ammunition or implements of war must register with the Secretary of State, whether the item handled by that person is a battleship or merely a .38 caliber pistol. Under the new proposal the President upon recommendation of the National Munitions Control Board may determine when the manufacture, exportation or importation of any designated arms, ammunition, and implements of war shall require registration. This will mean that consideration may be given to the relative military significance of the item handled.

Another important change provides for obtaining fuller information which will be made available to the Congress in the reports of the National Munitions Control Board. With a number of agencies of this Government actively concerned with the disposal of arms and related items, the proposed legislation will allow for the amalgamation of all such information into one comprehensive report.

In addition to the foregoing, the proposed legislation differs from Section 12 of the Neutrality Act by providing export controls over two additional categories; namely, (1) articles especially designed for or customarily used only in the manufacture of arms, ammunition and implements of war and (2) articles exported for use, directly or indirectly, by a foreign military establishment.

With regard to item (1) it is certainly unsound to endeavor to regulate traffic in arms and ammunition and permit a free flow of the special machinery and tools used in the production of those arms and ammunition. In the absence of such a provision those countries from whom munitions are withheld would soon seek and obtain the equipment with which to supply themselves.

In the interest of world peace articles supplying a foreign military establishment cannot be left free from Government supervision so far as exports are concerned. Prior to the last war there were no provisions for controlling articles supplying foreign military establishments. This condition must not be allowed to recur. The proposed legislation is consistent with the international trade policies I outlined a short time ago at Waco, Texas. It is designed to protect the security interests and to carry out the foreign policy of the United States.

There is one other aspect of the suggested legislation which warrants comment. At present there is no provision for Supervising the activities of those persons who do not manufacture, import or export arms, ammunition, and implements of war, but who, as free agents, buy or sell these items for export, or who obtain commissions or fees on contracts for manufacture or exportation of such items. These brokers assume none of the responsibilities of this important traffic, yet they promote it, often irresponsibly, and need only concern themselves with the profits to be found in the trade. It is scarcely fair to those who have the responsibility of carrying on what experience has shown to be a legitimate business, that such people should not be subject to regulation.

The international traffic in munitions and related items is a matter of major concern to us and to the other nations of the world. By such legislation as is now proposed for consideration by the Congress, the Government would be given powers essential for the safeguarding of its security interests in this international trade.

HARRY S. TRUMAN