Office of the Historian

800.24/1154

The British Embassy to the Department of State

Aide-Mémoire

His Majesty’s Ambassador left with the Secretary of State on July 10th an aide-mémoire98 tracing developments since September 1941 which in their view have rendered the White Paper of September 1941 out of date, and stating that they desired to discuss with the United States Government the proposal that a fresh statement of United Kingdom export policy be issued which would maintain the essential principle governing the use of Lend Lease supplies and at the same time take account of the developments mentioned.

2.
His Majesty’s Government feel that their offer to the United States Government of raw materials as Reciprocal Aid represents a further and vital development which should be taken into account in determining any new statement of policy. They therefore are of opinion that such new statement of policy should be reciprocal. If [Page 69] the United States Government agree, the form adopted might be an exchange of notes. His Majesty’s Embassy will be happy to discuss these suggestions further.
3.
His Majesty’s Government wish to emphasise again the importance which they attach to the principle that no advantage in world markets shall accrue to either country at the expense of the other by reason of sacrifices made in the interest of the effective prosecution of the war. They suggest that this principle should be reaffirmed in the notes which the two Governments may agree to exchange.
Washington , August 2, 1943.
[Enclosure]

Additional Point for Oral Presentation in Connexion with Reciprocal Aid Aide-Mémoire of August 2nd

The arrangements described in the aide-mémoire will mean a serious additional burden to the financial position of the sterling area already strained by four years of war and in particular to that of the United Kingdom. His Majesty’s Embassy will shortly be in a position to hand to the State Department for their confidential information and also that of the Treasury and office of Lend-Lease Administration a paper setting out the facts of the United Kingdom’s vast and growing external liabilities and its quite inadequate reserves of gold and dollars against these liabilities, a situation which His Majesty’s Government believe is not appreciated in all quarters of the Administration.

  1. Dated July 9, p. 60.↩