into force on August 1, 1949 by action of the Council. The organizing sessions of the Council were held July 6-9, 1949, in Washington, D. C.

MEMBERSHIP

Governments which participated in the negotiation of the wheat agreement submitting guaranteed export or import quantities and which have accepted the agreement become members of the Council. Provision is also made in the agreement for the accession of additional countries after the agreement goes into force. The Council voted an extension of time, until October 31, for signatory countries to accept the agreement.

Countries recognized by the Council as irregular exporters or irregular importers may become nonvoting members provided that they accept the obligation to submit information requested by the Council and agree to pay such membership fees as are determined.

Membership, as of September 16, 1949, is composed of the following 28 countries, which had accepted the agreement by that date:

(a) Exporting countries: Australia, Canada, France, and the United States.

(b) Importing countries: Austria, Belgium, Ceylon, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, the Union of South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela.

PURPOSE, POWERS, AND FUNCTIONS

The purpose of the International Wheat Agreement as administered by the Council is "to overcome the serious hardship caused to producers and consumers by burdensome surplus and critical shortages of wheat," and its immediate objectives are "to assure supplies of wheat to importing countries and markets for wheat to exporting countries at equitable and stable prices." The agreement pledges exporting countries to make available specified quantities of wheat to importing countries and importing countries to buy specified quantities within a given price range each year over a period of four crop years.

The Council is vested with the powers deemed essential to successful operation of the agreement, such as establishment of rules of procedure, recording of transactions in fulfillment of guaranteed quantities, and settlement of disputes arising in the administration of the agreement.

STRUCTURE

Each member country may be represented on the Council by one delegate, one alternate, and such technical advisers as are necessary.

Powers in the Council are proportionate to the guaranteed export and import quantities to which each country is committed under the agreement, and exporting and importing countries have a like total number of votes (see table below). Meetings of the Council are to be held at least once during each half of a crop-year and at such other times as the chairman may determine.

Powers and functions may be delegated to an executive committee so far as required in the interest of effective administration of the agreement. An advisory committee on price equivalents and a secretariat were established at the first meeting of the Council.

Official versions of the agreement exist in the English and French languages. Determination concerning the procedure to be followed in the use of languages in the Council is not prescribed in the agreecent, which specifies that the Council draw up its own rules of procedure.

FINANCES

Budget. The new Council adopted a budget of $150,000 for its first crop year beginning August 1, 1949.

The budget of the former Council for the crop year 1948 was $28,000. There was no budget for the crop year 1949.

Members' Quotas. For the crop year 1948 each member contributed $1,000 toward the expenses of the Council. The International Wheat Agreement provides that the contribution of each member to the new Council for each crop year shall be proportionate to the number of votes held by it when the budget for that crop year is settled.

The scale of assessments for the crop year beginning August 1, 1949, (based on the assumption that all signatory countries will have accepted the agreement) is as follows:

Authorization. United States participation in the new International Wheat Council is pursuant to the deposit of an instrument of acceptance of the International Wheat Agreement by the United States on June 17, 1949. The agreement was signed for the United States on March 23, 1949, and was ratified by the President, upon the advice and consent of the Senate, on June 17, 1949. United States participation in the former Wheat Council is based on the Memorandum of Agreement, initialed by the United States in April 1942, effective June 27, 1942, and amended, effective June 3, 1946.9

'See Basic Texts and Publications, p. 73.

On January 24, 1947, the President designated the International Wheat Council as a public international organization entitled to enjoy the benefits of the International Organizations Immunities Act.

Payments. United States contributions to the Council in the past have been made from funds appropriated to the Department of Agriculture. Contributions to the new Council, however, will be paid from funds appropriated to the Department of State.

The contribution of the United States for the crop year 1948 was $1,000. No assessments were made against members for the crop year 1949, since no budget was adopted for that year. For the first crop year of the new Council, beginning August 1, 1949, the United States assessment is 6,867 pounds, equivalent to approximately $27,675, or 18.45 percent of total assessments.

Agencies Chiefly Concerned. The Departments of Agriculture and State are the agencies chiefly concerned in the work of the Council. The United States Delegate has in the past been an official of the Department of Agriculture. An adviser representing the Department of State has collaborated with him and participated in meetings of the Council. The Departments of State, Agriculture, and Commerce were represented on the United States Delegation which negotiated the 1949 agreement. Implementation of United States obligations under this agreement is to be effected by action of Congress upon recommendations presented by the Department of Agriculture.

The United States has played a leading role in the work of the former Council and has taken a strong initiative by the convocation of international conferences to explore the possibility of securing a generally acceptable new international wheat agreement. The United States holds slightly over one-third of the total number of votes held by exporting countries.

RELATIONS WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

The Wheat Agreement provides that representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the proposed International Trade Organization, the Interim Coordinating Committee on Commodity Arrangements of the United Nations, and such other inter-governmental organizations as the Council may decide, shall be entitled to sit in meetings of the Council as nonvoting members. It also provides that the Council shall make whatever arrangements are required for consultation and cooperation with the appropriate organs of the United Nations and its specialized agencies and other intergovernmental organizations.

BASIC TEXTS AND PUBLICATIONS

U.S. Department of State. Memorandum of Agreement Between the United States of America, Argentina, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Initialed at Washington April 22, 1942. Effective June 27, 1942. Executive Agreement Series 384. Pub. 2140. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1944. (57 Stat. 1382).

Agreement Between the United States of America, Argentina, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Amending the Agreement initialed at Washington April 22, 1942. Effective June 3, 1946. Treaties and other International Acts Series 1540. Pub. 2644. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1946. (60 Stat. 1802.)

U.S. Senate. Message from the President of the United States Transmitting a Certified Copy of the International Wheat Agreement . . . which was open for signature in Washington from March 6 until April 1, 1948, etc. for the use of the Senate, 80th Congress, 2d session, Ex. F, 1948.

Printed

Message from the President of the United States Transmitting a Certified Copy of the International Wheat Agreement which was open for signature in Washington from March 23 to April 15, 1949, etc. Printed for the use of the Senate. 81st Congress, 1st session, Ex. M, 1949.

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. 1116, 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 Wheat Council by Executive Order 9823, dated January 24, 1947.

International Wool Study Group

Board of Trade, London, England

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

The International Wool Study Group was established pursuant to a recommendation of the London Wool Conference of November 1946. In 1937 an International Wool Secretariat was established by the Governments of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa at the request of growers for the specific purpose of undertaking research and publicity regarding relevant matters of mutual concern. Shortly after the outbreak of war in 1939 the United Kingdom arranged for the bulk purchase of the entire wool clips of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The United States clip was guaranteed by the United States Government through the agency of the Commodity Credit Corporation. In spite of increased consumption in some parts of the world, the loss of the European market was significant, and by 1945 world stocks of wool had accumulated to a level representing about

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