File No. 18659/58.
The French Chargé to the Secretary of State.
Manchester, August 28, 1909.
Mr. Secretary of State: The minister of foreign affairs has just notified me that his colleague, the minister of commerce, wishes to obtain some accurate information as to how the new administrative provisions of the tariff law are to be applied from now on to French products.
Hitherto these products have been allowed, in practice, to enjoy the concessions granted to Germany by virtue of a note of the State Department of May 2, 1907, following the commercial convention concluded between that power and the United States.
[Page 255]These concessions are as follows:
- I.
- The valuations such as defined by section 19 of the administrative act of the old law shall only be applicable when the goods Imported have not, in the country from which they come, any well defined market of origin enabling their value to be determined.
- II.
- The declarations provided for by section 8 of the administrative act of the old law shall no longer be demanded by consular officers except on the requisition of experts after the entry of the goods in the customhouse.
- III.
- Expert reexaminations shall be public, and shall be made in the presence of the importers or their representatives. When in exceptional cases they can not be made under these conditions, a statement of the result of the examinations, giving reasons, shall be furnished to the importers.
- IV.
- Here follow other provisions which simplify the formalities to be fulfilled before the American consuls.
- V.
- This article relates to the commissions which operate respectively in the two countries in order to furnish each other reciprocally information regarding customs matters.
- VI.
- The American customhouses shall take into account the valuations furnished by the chambers of commerce of the country of origin, without, however, being bound by these valuations.
There is reason for hoping that the Federal Government, being desirous not to disturb the commercial customs of importers, will take every care to watch over the enforcement of the new provisions, and that it will deem preferable not to enforce those relating to the valuation of imported goods until the expiration of the reciprocity treaties.
Nevertheless, the minister of foreign affairs has deemed fit to ask me to remind your excellency how apt the immediate enforcement of the new provisions, which are considerably severer than those of the Dingley tariff, would be to perturb the commercial relations between our two countries.
He indulges the hope that in case Germany secures a continuance of the present rules in this respect until February 7, the Federal Government will be willing to grant it until that date also as regards French goods, which would be placed in a markedly inferior position by the immediate enforcement of the new provisions.
Please accept, etc.,