Mr. Blaine to Señor Hurtado.
Washington , January 7, 1892 .
Sir: I am directed by the President to again bring to your attention the provisions of the tariff law of the Congress of the United States, approved October 1, 1890, in which provision was made for the admission into the United States, free of all duty, of the following articles, to wit: All sugars not above No. 16 Dutch standard in color, molasses, coffee, tea, and hides. In section 3 of this law it is declared that these remissions of duty were made “with a view to secure reciplocal trade with countries producing” those articles, and it is provided that—
On and after the first day of January, 1892, whenever and so often as the President shall be satisfied that the Government of any country producing and exporting sugars, molasses, coffee, tea, and hides, raw and uncured, or any of such articles, imposes duties or other exactions upon the agricultural or other products of the United States which, in view of the free introduction of such sugar, molasses, coffee, tea, and hides into the United States he may deem to be reciprocally unequal and unreasonable, he shall have the power and it shall be his duty to suspend, by proclamation to that effect, the provisions of this act relating to the free introduction of, such sugar, molasses, coffee, tea, and hides, the production of such country, for such time as he shall deem just, and in such case and during such suspension duties shall be levied, collected, and paid upon sugar, molasses, coffee, tea, and hides, the product of or exported from such designated country,
at the rates set forth in said section 3.
I am further directed by the President to inform you that, in view of the free introduction into the United States of the articles named, the product of Colombia, he deems the duties imposed upon the agricultural and other products of the United States, on their introduction into Colombia, to be reciprocally unequal and unreasonable; and that, unless on or before the 15th day of March next some satisfactory commercial arrangement is entered upon between the Government of the United States and the Government of Colombia, or unless some action is taken by the latter Government whereby the unequal and unreasonable state of the trade relations between the two countries is removed, the President will, on the date last named, issue his proclamation suspending the provisions of the tariff law cited, relating to the free introduction of such sugar, molasses, coffee, tea, and hides, the production of Colombia, and during such suspension the duties set forth in section 3 of said law shall be levied, collected, and paid upon sugar, molasses, coffee, tea, and hides, the product of or exported from Colombia.
In asking you to transmit to your Government the foregoing information, I beg to repeat to you the assurance, given in my note to you of January 3, 1891, and repeated to you and to your Government at various times since that date, of the earnest desire of the Government of the United States to maintain with the Republic of Colombia such trade relations as shall be reciprocally equal and mutually advantageous, [Page 452] and to express the hope that before the date fixed in this note an adjustment of the commercial relations may be reached between the two countries on a permanent basis, profitable alike to both.
Accept, etc.,