File No. 612.11971787
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Mexico ( Fletcher)
1240. Your 1249 July 3, 11 a.m.1 Department believes that decision respecting your suggested conference with Department should be deferred until after action has been taken pursuant to suggestion No. 3 made in Department’s 1196.1 You are, accordingly, authorized to make an appropriate announcement to the press using the facts stated in this telegram as a basis therefor, and you are requested to telegraph Department the text of statement and the time when you intend to issue it, eliminating reference to particular commodities mentioned. Upon receipt of this telegram, Department will make appropriate announcement an hour after your announcement in Mexico. The basis of this telegram is list attached to Foreign Office note No. 294, of April 6, 1918.
In order to give concrete expression to the friendly sentiments expressed in behalf of the Government of the United States by the President in his address on June 7 to the Mexican editors visiting this country,2 the Department of State has arranged that export licenses will be freely granted, subject to the restrictions imposed by law, to wit, the United States Trading with the Enemy Act and the United States Enemy Trading List, for shipments to Mexico of the commodities enumerated below. In connection with this announcement, it should be pointed out that the United States Government has been compelled to conserve for its own use and for the use of the Governments associated with it in the war, certain commodities which normally would be permitted to be exported from this country to Mexico. By virtue of the efforts of the United States Government to stimulate production, the list of conserved articles is gradually becoming shorter. Here follows list of commodities for which export licenses will be forthcoming:
- 1.
- Corn, 1,500,000 bushels, approximately 30,000 tons between now and November. If purchases are in considerable quantities they should be made through United States Food Administration.
- 2.
- Coke will be licensed if drawn from certain specified districts.
- 3.
- Ammonia will be supplied to Mexico for ice-making, refrigerating, and foodstuffs, but not for beer-making; in other words, Mexico will be treated in exactly the same way as all other South and Central American countries.
- 4.
- Jute sacks. These are under English control.
- 5.
- Agricultural machinery—licenses will be granted liberally. Mining machinery, where required for production of metals—licenses will be granted liberally.
- 6.
- Articles of iron and steel manufacture. This characterization is very indefinite. Generally speaking, this country will license freely all articles of steel and iron manufacture which [Page 628] are to be used for the purpose of producing war material for this country. In other cases this country, on account of the necessity for conservation, restricts the exportation of iron and steel to all countries.
- 7.
- Articles for the exploitation of mines, especially cyanide, dynamite, caps and fuse. Mexico is now getting cyanide for their gold products. All countries have been rationed with respect to cyanide since there is not enough to go around. Export licenses are granted for dynamite to Mexico as required for mining purposes. The same thing applies to caps and fuse.
- 8.
- Common soap. License will be granted for 2,000 tons.
- 9.
- Licenses will be granted for copper in manufactured form, but it is doubtful whether this country can afford to give licenses to an amount equal to 10 per cent of the total importation of copper from Mexico. The same remark applies to zinc. United States is very short of ferromanganese and, accordingly, will not be able to grant export licenses for this commodity to any great extent.
- 10.
- Licenses will freely be granted for the following foodstuffs to Mexico: canned herring, canned sardines, butter, cocoa, condensed milk, corn, cornmeal, corn flour, confectionery, including chocolate candy, barreled beef, dried fruit, lard, mutton oil, oats, pork, pork products, oleo oil, peas (not seed), tea. Purchases in considerable quantities to be made through Food Administration.
- Department understands that pork products are greatly desired in Mexico and you should especially feature the fact that the United States will freely license all pork products to Mexico.
- 11.
- With reference to machinery and materials for railways shown
in list attached to Foreign Office note No. 294, of April 6,
1918, licenses will be given for all except the following:
- (1)
- Copper bars, tubes, or pipes.
- (2)
- Structural steel, steel sheets, bronzing sheets and ingots.
- (3)
- Boiler tubes.
- (4)
- Plant for manufacture of boiler tubes—unless such plant is a second-hand one which can be spared in this country.
- (5)
- Ten thousand tons 75-pound rails. We are, however, making it possible for Monterey Iron & Steel Co. to turn out at least this amount of rails.
- (6)
- Twenty locomotives, 10 sleeping cars, 5 combination baggage and express cars. We cannot promise these now on account of shortage in this country, though it may be possible for Mexican Government to pick up a few of these which are not needed in this country.
- (7)
- Car-wheel and locomotive foundry. We could not spare any other than second-hand one.
- (8)
- General shop machinery. At the present time we could spare some second-hand machinery and some new shop tools of varying classes.
The above list is not meant to be exclusive. No doubt from time to time this Government will be able to add thereto and will be glad [Page 629] to consider carefully any requests for additions made by the Mexican Government.
With reference to the henequen contract, United States Food Administration takes pleasure in announcing that it has contracted with the Compañía Reguladora de Henequén for the sale of 500,000 bales of henequen delivered at United States Gulf ports. The United States is very gratified that this matter has been satisfactorily adjusted.
In announcement you should make it clear that United States in taking this friendly position is relying on Mexico continuing to allow commodities not imperatively needed by her to be exported to the United States, and also on the assumption that Mexico will not permit to be reexported commodities and food received from the United States, or similar commodities and food.