862.852/57
The Ambassador in Mexico (Daniels) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 29.]
Sir: I have the honor to record below a conversation between Finance Minister Suarez and the Commercial Attaché on November 27, 1939. The Commercial Attaché reports as follows:
“I asked Minister Suarez when he expected to receive his three tankers from Italy and the two tankers from Norway. Minister Suarez answered that he had just sent a man to Italy for the purpose of making arrangements to receive the first tanker in January, the second in February and the third in March. He said that the three tankers had a capacity of 12,000 tons each. In regard to the Norwegian tankers, Minister Suarez said that they would arrive in December or January and also had a capacity of 12,000 tons each. Without any questioning the Minister said that he would soon own the German tanker Tine Amussen now at Puerto Mexico. I asked him if the German Government had agreed to make the sale and he replied that it had and that its consummation only depended upon an agreement in price. The Minister stated that he had offered the German Government 250,000.00 dollars whereas the seller was requesting Dlls. 350,000.00. Minister Suarez stated that the Mexican Government would pay more than it had offered and that in view of the reduction of duties on petroleum in the Venezuelan treaty, he would telephone Mr. Silva Herzog to make the purchase as soon as possible. Minister Suarez laughed when he said that he would have the American Navy to protect his German tanker plying between Mexican and American Gulf ports. The Minister said that it would be necessary to pay cash in dollars for the tanker.
“In speaking of petroleum deliveries to the United States he said that the petroleum and its derivatives now at Eastern States or stored in the United States would have to be re-exported and sold to other countries. He said, however, that if conditions continued as they are he would find it necessary to ship petroleum to the United States, pay the regular import duty and sell it upon the American market.”
Respectfully yours,