ABSTRACT
When, in the spring of 1953, the White House announced its acceptance of a one-year trade act extension and the establishment of what came to be called the Clarence Randall Commission, it did not require much foresight to recognize that reciprocal trade was bound to be a major political issue of 1954. The Randall Commission, though set up in the summer, held its organizational meeting, with the President appearing, only on September 22. Randall started with one he thought least controversial—the section on foreign investment—to get his members "in the habit of agreement". He though voting against subsidies, ordered the paper published and personally wrote an explanation of why he thought the "admirably prepared" proposal merited attention. The price Randall paid for enveloping his commission in privacy was loss of press support. Randall, after finishing his job on the report, became special assistant to the President for foreign-trade matters.
