File No. 355.115 C76/9.
The Secretary of State to the American Minister.
Washington, January 24, 1912.
Sir: The Department acknowledges receipt of your despatch No. 12 dated January 5, 1912,1 on the subject of the discrimination against American crude oils appearing in published specifications of the Belgian State Railway Administration. It is noted that the crude and lubricating oils specified for the use of the Belgian State Railways are required to be of Russian origin in the latest issue of the “Cahier des Charges Spécial No. 688” and that bids under this specification were called for on December 20th last. The discrimination therein against the American product consists in the exclusion of all oils other than those of Russian origin. This matter is properly one for your early consideration, since for more than three years it has been the subject of correspondence between the Department and the Legation and between the latter and the Government of Belgium.
When in January 1910 the Department entered into negotiations with the Government of Belgium to determine whether the minimum tariff of the United States should be granted to products imported from Belgium or originating in that country the Belgian Legation at Washington was informed of the willingness of the President to proclaim in behalf of Belgium the extension of the minimum tariff to imports of Belgian origin into the United States, upon the assumption that the Belgian Government would give its prompt and earnest consideration to the several matters of concern which had been brought to the attention of the Department. One of these matters as set forth in the note of January 29, 1910, to the Belgian Minister at Washington, Count Conrad de Buisseret, was the recognition of American petroleum lubricating products on an equality with those of other countries in the specifications of requirements for railroad supplies. The Department was assured, by note dated February 1, 1910, from the Belgian Minister that he had not failed to transmit the contents of the Department’s note of January 29 to his Government, recommending at the same time a prompt and earnest consideration to the matters which had been brought to his Government’s attention through the American Legation at Brussels and through himself.
Notwithstanding the pledge of the Belgian Minister that the alleged discrimination against American crude and lubricating oils [Page 10] would have consideration in view of the granting of the minimum tariff of the United States, no such consideration appears to have been given in the preparation of the specifications published in the latter part of 1910 relating to the requirements of the Belgian State Railways. Upon notification of this apparent oversight the American Minister at Brussels again brought the subject to the attention of the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs. This could not be done until too late to obtain the recognition to which, as a matter of good faith, under all the circumstances of the case, the Department felt American oil was entitled.
It is noted that the correspondence enclosed in your dispatch No. 12 of January 5 shows that the Continental Petroleum Company, acting in behalf of the Texas Oil Company, anticipating the annual advertisement of the Belgian State Railways Administration, had especially prepared itself during 1911 to meet all the requirements as to the points relating to the quality of its oils, and had kept the legation informed of the results of analyses and experiments conducted for the purpose of demonstrating that the American product, if fairly considered, would meet all the conditions as well as Russian oil. It also appears that the Continental Petroleum Company received no official advice of the adjudication of crude mineral lubricating oils for the Belgian State Railways then about to be made until December 13, 1911, and that the limit for the receipt of bids was fixed in the advertisement as December 20, 1911. Notwithstanding this short notice the Continental Petroleum Company proceeded to tender its oils under date of December 16, 1911, a copy of which tender was forwarded to the Legation on the same day.
You state that you made an appointment with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, when the subject was discussed at length, but you have omitted giving the date of the interview, which presumably was held previously to December 20, 1911, the date of expiration of the time limit for receiving bids. The Department will be interested to learn the result of the personal visit which the Minister for Foreign Affairs agreed to make to his colleague of the Administration of Railways for the purpose of discussing the matter, as referred to in the final paragraph of your despatch.
The course of the Belgian authorities in their treatment of this case has not demonstrated a willingness to reach a conclusion in accordance with the understanding heretofore referred to. The Department now desires that the subject be pressed, and that a settlement be reached if possible for the admission of the American product to competition on terms of equality. If such recognition in the future is to be denied, the Department desires to be definitely informed.
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