File No. 103.96/457
The Ambassador in France ( Sharp ) to the Secretary of State
[Telegram]
Paris
,
April 15, 1918
.
[Received April 16, 7.07 a.m.]
[Received April 16, 7.07 a.m.]
3621. War Trade Board [from McFadden]:
No. 38. Our No. 31. Inter-Allied Metal Conference calls attention to urgency of American cooperation in control of supply, price and distribution of wolfram.
- [1]
- United States is requested to agree to first resolution adopted at meeting February 21, attended by General Williams, at which England, Italy agreed to make no purchases of wolfram in Portugal and Spain, leaving representative of French Government as sole purchaser Portuguese and Spanish wolfram.
- (2)
- United States is requested to license no imports of wolfram ore from Portugal and Spain, leaving this production exclusively for France who will allocate agreed quantity of same obtained from this source to England, Italy.
- (3)
- United States is requested to agree to following distribution of Chinese and Latin American wolfram. China production is allocated two-sixths to United States, three-sixths to England, one-sixth to France. South and Central American production is allocated two-sixths to United States, one-sixth to England, three-sixths to France. Italy to be supplied in both instances from French spare. Wolfram production in colonies to be reserved exclusively in each case to mother country. United States to cease exporting wolfram ore or metal to France and England.
- (4)
- Central inter-Allied office to be established in various producing countries to fix prices and effect distribution wolfram.
- Advise promptly your consent or otherwise to these four proposals. It appears to us that if you consent to this arrangement in principle, [Page 564] then necessary price control would be secured by refusing to grant licenses to importers of Chinese and Latin American wolfram who make contracts exceeding inter-Allied prices. McFadden.
Sharp