Mr. Blaine to Senhor Mendonça.
Washington, November 3, 1890.
Sir: The Congress of the United States of America, at its late session, enacted a new tariff law, in the third section of which provision was made for the admission into the ports of the United States, free of all duty, whether national, state, or municipal, of the following articles:
Sugars—all not above number 16 Dutch standard in color, all tank bottoms, all sugar draining and sugar sweepings, sirups of cane juice, melada, concentrated melada, and concrete and concentrated molasses.
Molasses.
Coffee.
Hides—raw or uncured, whether dry, salted, or pickled. Angora goat skins, raw, without the wool, unmanufactured. Asses’ skins, raw or unmanufactured, and skins, except sheep skins with the wool on.
In the law providing for the tree admission of the foregoing articles. Congress added a section declaring that these remissions of duty were made with a view to secure reciprocal trade with countries producing those articles; and that, whenever the President should become satisfied that reciprocal favors were not granted to the products of the United States in the countries referred to, it was made his duty to impose upon the articles above enumerated the rates of duty set forth in the section of the law above cited, of which I have heretofore transmitted you a copy.
The Government of the United States of America being desirous of maintaining with the United States of Brazil such trade relations as shall be reciprocally equal, I should be glad to receive from you an assurance that the Government of Brazil will meet the Government of the United States in a spirit of sincere friendship, and that it may prove to be the happy fortune of you, Mr. Minister, and myself to be instrumental in establishing commercial relations between the two Republics on a permanent basis of reciprocity, profitable alike to both.
To this end I should be glad if you could advise me of the changes which Brazil would be willing to make in her system of tariff duties, in response to the changes proposed in the tariff of the United States which are favorable to your country.
[Page 44]In case the Government of Brazil should see proper to provide for the free admission into its ports of any of the products or manufactures of the United States, or at a specified reduction of the existing rates of duty, your Government may be assured that no export tax, whether national, state, or municipal, will be imposed upon such products and manufactures in the United States.
It may be further understood that while the Government of the United States of America would reserve the right to adopt such laws and regulations as should be found necessary to protect the revenue and prevent fraud in the declarations and proof that the articles herein enumerated, and whose free admission is provided for by the tariff law above cited, are the product or manufacture of Brazil, the laws and regulations to be adopted to that end would place no undue restrictions on the importer, nor impose any additional charges or fees upon the articles imported.
In the happy event of an agreement between the two Governments, the same can be notified to each other and to the world by an official announcement simultaneously issued by the executive departments of the United States of America and the United States of Brazil; and such an agreement can remain in force so long as neither Government shall definitely inform the other of its intention and decision to consider it at an end.
Accept, Mr. Minister, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.