Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

culture at the first meeting of the Committee, the Department of Agriculture made office space available to the Committee in the Department of Agriculture building and supplied secretarial service. Now the Committee has its own secretariat, paid from the Committee's funds, but it is still housed in the United States Department of Agriculture.

RELATIONS WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

The Committee has established formal relationships with the Food and Agriculture Organization for exchange of information and reciprocal representation. The seventh session authorized further cooperation in deciding that related international organizations such as FAO and the Interim Commission of the International Trade Organization should be kept informed of the activities of the Committee and should be invited to attend its deliberations as observers. The International Coordinating Committee for International Commodity Arrangements (ICCICA) also maintains close liaison with the Committee in accordance with the Resolution of Ecosoc establishing the ICCICA.

BASIC TEXTS AND PUBLICATIONS

International Cotton Advisory Committee. Official proceedings of plenary sessions, Washington: First Meeting, April 1, 1940; Second, October 17, 1940; Third, April 11, 1941; Fourth, April 2-14, 1945; Fifth, May 7–14, 1946; Sixth, June 9-11, 1947; Seventh, April 1948 (Cairo, Egypt); available at headquarters of the Committee, Washington.

International Organizations Immunities Act (59 Stat. 669; 8 U.S.C. 203, 215; 22 U.S.C. 288 a, b, c, d, e, f, note; 26 U. S. C. 116, 1400, 1426, 1600, 1607 and notes, 1621, 3466, 3469, 3475, 3797; 42 U.S.C. 401, 409, 1001, 1101, notes) made applicable to the International Cotton Advisory Committee by Executive Order 9911, dated December 19, 1947.

Department of State Bulletin: December 15, 1946, pp. 1075-8, "American Cotton Foreign Policy."

August 3, 1947, pp. 207-8, "Sixth Meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee."

May 30, 1948, pp. 702-4, "Seventh Meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee."

U. S. Department of Agriculture. Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations. International Cotton Meeting, Washington, September 5-9, 1939. p. 270. Stenographic Report.

Press Release 416-46, February 26, 1946.

International Labor Office. Intergovernmental Commodity Control Agreements. Montreal, 1943, pp. 132.

International Cotton Advisory Committee reports, Washington:

Cotton: Monthly Commentary on the World Situation

Cotton: Quarterly Statistical Bulletin

Cotton: Quarterly Review of the World Situation

The European Recovery Program in Relation to Cotton, February, 1948.

International Sugar Council

Trafalgar House, Waterloo Place, London SW1, England

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

The International Sugar Council was established pursuant to the International Sugar Agreement signed at London, May 6, 1937, which came into force September 1, 1937. The agreement has been extended annually by Protocols.5 The International Sugar Agreement was developed after a long period of recurring crises in the sugar industry. Various attempts were made to draw up intergovernmental agreements designed to establish an equilibrium in world markets between supply and demand. These resulted in the Brussels Sugar Convention of 1902 which was European in scope and the Chadbourne Agreement of 1931 signed by the chief sugar-exporting states. The International Sugar Agreement of 1937 was negotiated pursuant to a recommendation of the World Monetary and Economic Conference of 1933 and supersedes these other agreements.

MEMBERSHIP

The original membership of the International Sugar Council included the governments of the principal sugar exporting and importing states. The agreement is open to accession by the government of any metropolitan territory, other than a signer of the agreement, providing conditions of accession have first been agreed upon with the Council. The original members of the Council are listed below, an asterisk indicating countries which are no longer represented: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China,* Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, France, Germany,* Haiti, Hungary,* India,* Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Union of South Africa, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,* the United Kingdom, the United States, and Yugoslavia.

PURPOSES, POWERS, AND FUNCTIONS

The purpose of the International Sugar Council is to administer the International Sugar Agreement, which is designed to establish and maintain an orderly relationship between the supply and demand for sugar in the world market at prices which will be equitable both to producers and consumers. In addition to estimating free-market sugar requirements and securing the accession of nonsignatory governments, the Council is authorized to obtain and publish appropriate B See Basic Texts and Publications, p. 64.

statistics, to approve the budget, to appoint officers and working committees, and otherwise to carry out the terms of the agreement. Its terms of reference provide that the Council shall:

(a) make a full study, acting if it considers it desirable in conjunction with appropriate international organisations such as the International Institute of Agriculture, of the various forms of state assistance in order in particular to formulate proposals for carrying out the principle laid down in Article 4, taking into account the varying conditions under which sugar production is carried on, and, in particular, the conditions of agricultural production; (b) enquire into the effect on the free market of direct or indirect premiums granted to sugar-producing industries in general; (c) examine the possibility of promoting between white sugar exporting countries reciprocal agreements to respect their national markets; (d) collect available information in regard to the matters dealt with in Article 5 [i. e. the possibility of expanding consumption]; (e) submit the results of enquiries made in regard to the matters dealt with in this Article for the consideration of the Contracting Governments.

STRUCTURE

The Council is composed of delegates representing the contracting governments. There is also an Executive Committee, composed of nine members representing three importing states, three cane-sugar producing states, and three beet-sugar producing states. The United States and the United Kingdom have permanent representation as two of the importing states, and Cuba and the Netherlands have permanent representation as two of the three cane-producers. The third importing representative is selected by all importers other than the United States and the United Kingdom, while the remaining representatives are designated by rotation. The Executive Committee exercises any powers which may be delegated by the Council except for changing quotas and determining conditions for new accessions. The chairman of the Council is ex officio chairman of the Executive Committee, which precludes other representation of his government on the Committee. The Council meets at least once a year, but it may be convened at any time by the chairman. At the request of the Executive Committee or five contracting governments, the chairman immediately convenes a meeting of the Council.

The official languages of the Council are English and French. The present Executive Secretary is Miss Shufeldt.

FINANCES

Budget. The annual budget is approved by the Council. The Agreement of May 6, 1937 states that the expenses shall not exceed £12,500 ($50,406) in any year without the express consent of all the contracting governments.

The budget of the International Sugar Council for its fiscal year ending August 31, 1949 amounted to £9,440 ($38,067), as compared with an approved budget of £7,840 ($31,615) for its fiscal year 1948. All expenditures are financed by contributions from member gov

ernments.

Members' Quotas. The contribution of each member government, as decided by the Council, is proportionate to the number of votes to which its delegation is entitled. This number is based upon its relative status as an exporter or importer of sugar.

Assessments against members for the Council's fiscal year 1949 were determined as follows:

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Authorization. Following the advice and consent of the Senate, the instrument of ratification of the International Sugar Agreement of 1937 was deposited by the United States on April 4, 1938. Since all countries had not deposited ratifications of the Agreement by September 1, 1937, as required by its terms, it did not come into force on that date. The United States however, under authority of the Sugar Act "See Basic Texts and Publications, p. 64.

of 1937, cooperated in the international regulation of the production and marketing of sugar and participated in the International Sugar Council (along with certain other countries, which by reason of declarations had provisionally brought the Agreement into force in respect of those countries as from September 1, 1937). Subsequently, at London in July 1942, the countries which had deposited ratifications of the Agreement (including the United States) signed a Protocol, which in addition to prolonging the Agreement after August 31, 1942, provided that it should be regarded as having entered into force on September 1, 1937, in respect of the Governments signing the Protocol. Protocols extending the life of the Agreement have been signed annually. The latest was signed at London as of August 31, 1949, but has not yet been submitted to the Senate for ratification.

Payments. The United States contribution is paid from funds appropriated to the Department of State. The United States quota for the Council's fiscal year 1949 amounted to £2006 ($8089), or 21.25 percent of total assessments.

Agencies Chiefly Concerned. The Departments of State and Agriculture are primarily concerned with the formulation of United States policy in the International Sugar Council and with participation in its meetings.

Participation. The United States participates in the work of the Council by the designation of official representatives having full voting rights.

RELATIONS WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

The Sugar Council has working agreements with the statistical office of the United Nations and with the Food and Agriculture Organization, defining their respective responsibilities with regard to collection of statistics, distribution of information, et cetera, and has established a policy for reciprocal exchange of publications. It has been agreed that the Sugar Council shall collect all statistical data relating to sugar which will be required by either organization. The Statistical Commission of the United Nations has recommended that the Statistical Bulletin of the International Sugar Council be published monthly, as before the war, instead of on the present quarterly basis. The fact that the Sugar Council collects this data relieves the Food and Agriculture Organization of the necessity for doing so. Representatives of United Nations and FAO are invited to meetings of the Sugar Council and vice versa.

The Interim Coordinating Committee on International Commodity Arrangements (ICCICA), established by the Economic and Social Coun

6 See Basic Texts and Publications, p. 64.

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »