COMMISSION ON FOREIGN ECONOMIC POLICY - THE RANDALL REPORT Introduction As directed by the Act of Congress under which our work has been undertaken, and guided by a sense of heavy responsibility, the members of the Commission on Foreign Economic Policy have endeavored faithfully to re-examine the international relationships of the United States in the economic field, as they bear upon the soundness of our domestic economy and the security of our citizens.
Dominating our thinking throughout, has been the sobering realization that the policies pursued and the actions taken by the United States in respect to foreign economic policy profoundly influence the destinies of all of the peoples of the world. Our Nation bears an awesome responsibility of world leadership. Though not of our seeking, it is one that we may be fated to bear for a long time to come. If we bear it with understanding, courage, and honor, we can make incalculable contributions to the cause of peace and the advancement of human welfare.
In our discharge of this responsibility, we shall find at times that our views will differ from those held by other free peoples. On such occasions we must display forebearance, but never falter in the high quality of our leadership.
Nor can we forget that the security and well-being of our own citizens are constantly at stake as we take significant steps in foreign economic policy, though the effects of such decisions may at times seem remote to the individual, or difficult of evaluation.
The responsibility which rests upon the President and the Congress to make wise decisions, and to take them promptly, is grave indeed.
How then shall our Government determine what is wise in the field of foreign economic policy? Ours is clearly one of the most dynamic, the most resilient, the most creative economies in the world. Never has it seemed more powerful than it is today. What, therefore, could be wiser than to determine what are the sources of that strength, and then to build upon these as we play our part in the international economy? The strength of our domestic economy requires adherence to three fundamental principles: 1. The freest possible opportunity for the development of individual
talents and initiative in the utilization of private resources and through the free association of workers.
2. The maintenance of vigorous, but fair, competition.
3. The maintenance of a broad free market for goods and services.
Our primary reliance should therefore be upon the incentives of the free enterprise system, the stimulating effects of competition, and the stabilizing influence of free markets.
In moving toward a fresh release of these expansive forces, here and abroad, we must not expect to repeal history. The present fabric of our laws, the obligations which we have assumed under the necessities of national defense, the customs and traditions of our people, the basic protective standards of our laws that safeguard wages, commerce, industry, and agriculture, must all be respected. Where changes are required they must be embarked upon gradually, with every precaution possible taken to avoid dislocations in our present systems of production, and distress to individual citizens.
Changes when made must take us toward recognizable goals. We must know what we are seeking to achieve and advance steadily and intelligently toward those known objectives. We must avoid the instability of the improvised.
Boldness will be required. We have outgrown some former practices. The larger interests of all our people must at all times be our standard of conduct.
Responsible behavior on our part, moreover, requires that we recognize our own limitations and restrict our commitments to our capabilities. Our first obligation to the world, as well as to ourselves, is to keep the United States strong. Only from that firm base shall we be able intelligently and worthily to measure up to our great responsibility in world leadership.
That from our own resources we have already poured out vast sums to help reconstruct a war-torn world, and to further our own security, is common knowledge. But the extent to which there still exists a serious distortion in our economic relationships with the rest of the world is not so clearly understood.