File No. 422.11G93/957a
The Acting Secretary of State to the Minister in Ecuador ( Hartman)
The Secretary of State requested the Ecuadoran Minister to call on him this morning, and informed him, with reference to a note written by the Minister inquiring whether the importations of cacao into the United States from Ecuador were going to be restricted, that the War Trade Board proposes to restrict very considerably, and possibly entirely, the importations of cacao into the United States from Ecuador, in order to save tonnage for important war purposes. The Secretary of State further informed the Ecuadoran Minister that the State Department would be in a much stronger position to influence the War Trade Board to lessen the restrictions placed on the importation of cacao from Ecuador if the Ecuadoran Government would resume at once its daily payments of a 365th part of yearly payment of the interest of the Guayaquil & Quito Railroad bonds and would deposit 50 per cent of the export duty on all cacao-exported as part payment of the amount which Ecuador now owes as interest on these bonds, the American Consul in Guayaquil to be informed officially by the Government of Ecuador of the deposit made before issuance of license for each shipment of cacao. The Minister of Ecuador requested that he might have time to take this matter up with his Government in order to try to arrange for some satisfactory settlement of the matter before any step be taken by the United States to carry out its above-stated program. The Secretary of State said that he would withhold any further action in the case for ten days.