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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Reference | FCO 82/67 |
| Department/Office | Foreign Office |
| Title | Briefs for meeting between Mr Richard Nixon, President of USA, and Prime Minister of UK, Mr Edward Heath, Bermuda, December (1971) |
| Description | The Steering Brief for the meeting between the Prime Minister, Edward Heath and President Nixon in Bermuda stresses that the Prime Minister should express appreciation of the help the UK have consistently received from the US despite difficulties on the monetary and trade fronts. The brief covers the following topics: Rhodesia and the US import of Rhodesian chrome; the Persian Gulf and UK plans to withdraw from the Gulf; Malta and Mr Mintoff; Defence matters and the purchase by the Ministry of Defence of lightweight torpedoes. Background briefs on President Nixon's meeting with President Pompidou and the adjourned meeting of the Group of Ten in Washington. The President's meeting with Mr Trudeau, Herr Brandt and Mr Sato the Japanese Prime Minister as well as meetings with Edward Heath at Chequers and in Washington. Briefs on the sources of strain in Anglo-American and European-American relations from conflicts of interest. In the US disillusionment with the failure of the Vietnam War has affected public attitudes to overseas involvement of all kinds. The US's drift towards isolationism. Objectives of the meeting are to restore Anglo-American inter-communication. To impress upon the President the UK's belief that the Alliance between the US and Western Europe is fundamental to the security of both. World Monetary situation and US problems with other industrialised countries, over currency values and trading practices. Relations between the US and the enlarged EEC. Objectives for the Prime Minister on Defence include encouraging the President to keep defence questions separate from the Monetary crisis, to demonstrate to the President that the European defence effort is already very respectable, to encourage the President in the thought that Europe should continue to concentrate on improving European forces, not on paying for the American and to explore the prospects of bringing the French back into the defence fold and to explain the dangers of MBFR. Problems of Defence including that a greater sharing of the burden of defence could ease the US balance of payments. European members of NATO recognise that they will depend on the US for their security for the foreseeable future. Pressure from the Senate for US troop cuts in Europe and MBFR negotiations. US polices towards China, Japan, the Arab/Israel dispute, the Gulf and continuing US support as well as South East Asia and a timescale for the US withdrawal. Finally a briefing on President Nixon and support to combat Narcotics. |
| Date | 1971 |
| Collection | The Nixon Years, 1969-1974 |
| Region | North America, Europe |
| Countries | United Kingdom, United States, Bermuda, Zimbabwe, Malta, Japan, France, China |
| Places | Asia; Bahamas; Britain; Canada; Caribbean; Chequers; Chile; China; Cyprus; Europe; France; Germany; India; Ireland; Israel; Japan; Jordan; Malta; Middle East; Northern Ireland; Pakistan; Persian Gulf; Poland; Rhodesia; South East Asia; Soviet Union; United Kingdom; United States of America; Vietnam |
| People | Brimelow, Thomas; Cromer, 3rd Earl of; Greenhill, Sir Denis; Haldeman, H R; Heath, Edward; Johnson, Lyndon Baines; Kennedy, David Matthew; Nixon, Richard M; Overton, Hugh |
| Topics | Aid; Arab; Balance of Payments; British Embassy; Burden sharing; Communist; Conference on European Security (CES); Congress; Council of Economic Advisers; Defence; Department of State; Detente; Draft; Drugs; East-West relations; Economic policy; Elections; European Security; Federal Reserve; foreign policy; Group of Ten; Inflation; International Economic Policy; Isolationism; Japanese; Lockheed; Ministry of Defence; Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions (MBFR); Narcotics; Nixon Doctrine; North Atlantic Treaty Association (NATO); Office of Management and Budget; Oil; Payments; Protectionism; Protectionist; Race; State Department; Tariffs; Trade; Treasury; Unemployment; United Nations; Vice President; Vietnam War; Warsaw Pact; White House; withdrawal |
| Copyright | Crown Copyright documents © are reproduced by permission of The National Archives London, UK |
