ABSTRACT
Many American officials were alarmed to see the Geneva Conference of July 1954 lead to the establishment of another communist state - North Vietnam. Secretary of State Dulles foresaw such an outcome and refused American support for the Geneva Accords that divided Vietnam in half and provided for popular consultation on reunification through elections in 1956. Such an arrangement, it was believed, would inevitably produce a single Vietnam under communist control and the US administration pursued policies to counter this outcome. America's main policy was to ensure that South Vietnam remained in the Westem camp and this led to America providing immediate finance for the establishment of a South Vietnamese army. Another policy implemented by Dulles was the establishment of the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) comprising a collection of regional and European nations to counter communism. Trade control also became an issue not only to hinder trade reaching the Vietnamese communists but also to stop its transfer from North Vietnam into China. The existing and comprehensive provisions to curtail trade with China and North Korea were to be applied against North Vietnam.
