Sound recording of a meeting held on July 16, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Under Secretary of State George Ball, Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs Richard Holton, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) David Bell, Chief United States Trade Negotiator Christian Herter, member of the Council of Economic Advisers Walter Heller, Director of the Bureau of the Budget Kermit Gordon, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy, Special Counsel to the President Theodore Sorensen, and Under Secretary of Commerce Franklin Roosevelt, Jr. The discussions concerning the balance of payments are similar to discussions in a meeting the previous day, only in a larger group. Actions by the Federal Reserve as well as the President’s Special Message to Congress on the Balance of Payments are also covered. In addition, military budget cuts in personnel and in aid, and export-trade difficulties are discussed in detail. Two segments of the recording totaling 2 minutes have been removed in accordance with Section 3.4 (b) (1), (3) of Executive Order 12958. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 98, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 98 in its entirety.