I am not sure what your point is; your statement doesn't inherently invalidate mine. There can be multiple reasons why one does something. In fact, from the same wikipedia paragraph, that you quoted, here is a chunk that you skipped over. "The European nations had all but exhausted their foreign exchange reserves during the war, and the Marshall Plan aid represented almost their sole means of importing goods from abroad. At the start of the plan these imports were mainly much-needed staples such as food and fuel, but later the purchases turned towards reconstruction needs as was originally intended."