Message to the Congress Transmitting First Annual Report on the Operation of the International Coffee Agreement.

To the Congress of the United States:

This is the first annual report on the operation of the International Coffee Agreement required by Section 5 of the International Coffee Agreement Act of 1965 (P.L. 89-23).

The International Coffee Agreement represents an important element of our foreign economic policy, especially as that policy is directed towards the problems of the less developed countries. Our participation in the Agreement should help make it possible to avoid the sharp rises and falls in coffee prices that have adversely affected United States consumers and growers of coffee in foreign countries alike. Stability of prices will help those countries heavily dependent on coffee exports to plan for and carry out their economic development and diversification programs. The steady economic progress of these countries is, in turn, an important stimulus to a healthier and more stable political climate in each.

I believe that during 1965 the dual aims of the Agreement--adequate supplies of coffee to consumers and markets for coffee to producers at equitable prices--have been met. I am also confident that the Congress will view with satisfaction the spirit of international cooperation that has increasingly come to characterize the operation of this Agreement. The passage of the International Coffee Agreement Act permitted its implementation for the year that began October 1, 1965. The results to date justify our confidence that the Agreement will further advance the national interest of the United States.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

The White House

January 14, 1965