Treaty Series No. 618.]
[Untitled]
In order to facilitate the commercial relations between the United States of America and Russia, in view of the embargo which has been placed by the Government of Russia upon the exportation of certain articles from Russia, the undersigned Robert Lansing, Secretary of State of the United States, and His Excellency George Baktiméteff, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to the United States, duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have agreed upon the following conditions under which American citizens or firms may secure release of shipments under special permission from the Imperial Russian Government, to wit:
1.
Whenever an American merchant or firm desires to make importations from Russia he or they shall first file an application for such importation with the Commercial Agent in charge of the New York office of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of Commerce of the United States, which application shall set forth in detail information regarding the proposed importations, [Page 1286] the commodities, the character of the goods, their quantities and values, the methods of payment, and the name of the Russian export firm, as well as any other details which may be required.
2.
The American importer shall further state in the application his preparedness to file with the proper Russian official in the United States a bond to the Imperial Russian Government, to the amount of the value of the goods at the port of importation as of day prior to the date of the execution of the bond. This bond shall run for a period of at least three years or until the conclusion of the war; and the said bond shall guarantee that the commodities, raw materials, or products manufactured therefrom, which it is desired to import, shall not be exported from the United States to any country unless special permission therefor be granted by the Imperial Russian Government or its representative.
3.
Upon the American importer complying with the requirements of conditions numbered one and two, the Commercial Agent in charge of the New York office of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of Commerce of the United States shall then make inquiries as to the standing and responsibility of the American importer, and as to such other details with respect to him as may be deemed to be required; and should he find that such importer is satisfactory in all respects, he shall approve the application and forward it to the Imperial Russian Embassy at Washington or to its representative.
4.
Upon the said application receiving the approval of the Imperial Russian Embassy or its representative, the Imperial Russian Embassy or its representative will at once seek by cable the permission of the Imperial Russian Minister of Finance for the exportation of the goods in question, it being understood that the American importer will deposit with the Commercial Agent in charge of the New York office of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of Commerce a sum sufficient to cover all costs of cabling and incidental expenses. If permission for exportation be granted by the Imperial Russian Government, the American importer shall then submit his order to the Commercial Agent in charge of the New York office of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of Commerce for approval and the order shall be made out in such a way that the goods to be imported shall be consigned to the order of the Secretary of Commerce of the United States.
5.
When permission for the exportation of the goods shall have been procured from the Imperial Russian Minister of Finance, the American importer shall execute his bond and file it with the proper Russian official in the United States for approval. Upon the receipt of [Page 1287] this approval by the Commercial Agent in charge of the New York office of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of Commerce the consignment may be released to the American importer.
6.
Should it be found that the terms of the bond have been violated and that the goods in question have been exported from the United States either in their original form or in manufactured form, except with the specific approval of the Imperial Russian Government or its representative, the bond shall be forfeited to the Imperial Russian Government.
7.
The Commercial Agent in charge of the New York office of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of Commerce shall transmit to the Imperial Russian Commercial Attaché a statement setting forth the applications which have been made for importations of Russian goods into the United States and a statement of the actual arrivals of such goods, and these statements shall be made in triplicate on the first and fifteenth of each month.
8.
It is understood that in case the Imperial Russian Government does not approve an application it is not bound in any way to give an explanation of the reasons of its refusal as these might be justified by considerations of State policy.
9.
It is understood that this agreement shall go into operation on September 23rd, 1915, and shall remain in force during the continuance of the embargo. If, however, American importers desire to import goods which have been purchased prior to the date above mentioned, such arrangements may be made under the usual procedure but will be subject to the special approval of the Imperial Russian Minister of Finance.
In witness whereof the undersigned have hereunto signed their names and affixed their seals.