Señor Zeballos to Mr. Gresham.
Washington, January 30, 1894. (Received February 1.)
Sir: In confirmation of the suggestions which I had the honor to place before your Department and the matters submitted to the consideration of the President of the Republic in regard to the mutual economical advantages that would result to the United States and my country by the free introduction of Argentine wools into the American market, I take pleasure in stating that the Argentine Congress in passing the tariff law for 1894, in the sessions held during the past week, included in the list of articles to be admitted free of duty, crude petroleum.
My Government directs by cable that I communicate with your Department, announcing the fact that this action has been taken in consideration of the report by the Committee on Ways and Means of the [Page 4] House of Representatives of the United States, which recommended that wools be placed upon the list of articles to be admitted free of duty.
The Argentine Government desires to strongly insist upon its opinion that the approval of this action in respect to wool will extraordinarily increase the volume of the commercial relations between the two countries and permit the manufactured products of the United States to enter into active competition with similar articles of European origin in the rich Argentine market.
It is also expected that the Argentine Congress will exempt from the payment of duties lumber, lubricating and fuel oils, and refined petroleum from this country, which articles are consumed in Argentine upon a large scale.
The exemption of crude petroleum is of the greatest importance for American commerce, for it will be remembered that in the Argentine Republic it is employed as a fuel in competition with English coals, the annual importation of which is as follows:
| 1888. | 1889. | 1890. | 1891. | 1892. | |
| Kilos | 333,798,549 | 658,054,486 | 514,582,061 | 350,680,989 | 520,771,418 |
| Tons | 333,798 | 658,054 | 514,582 | 350,680 | 520,771 |
Permit, etc.,