File No. 641.326/8
The British Embassy to the Department of State
Memorandum
The British Embassy presents its compliments to the Department, of State, and with reference to its memorandum of July 2,1 has the honour to inform the Department that, in order to ensure the employment of the German vessels in Brazil in trades useful to the general conduct of the war, His Majesty’s Government propose to notify the Brazilian Government that on condition one-half of this tonnage is chartered to the Inter-Allied Chartering Bureau for distribution among the Allies, they are prepared to sanction the importation into the United Kingdom of a proportion of the 1916 imports of Brazilian coffee; such proportion would in no case exceed 50 per cent and no stipulation would be made as to the nationality of the vessels carrying the coffee to the United Kingdom.
The Embassy would be glad to learn whether, in view of the importance of securing the use of these vessels in such a way as to be of the greatest service to the Allies, the United States Government perceive any objection to the above proposal.
[Received August 21.]