File No. 656.119/434
The Secretary of State to the Netherland Chargé ( De Beaufort )
Sir: In your note to me of May 2, 1918,1 you refer to my note to you of April 26, 1918, and inquire as to what are the regulations which I refer to as having been adopted by my Government to enable it to supervise shipping touching at United States ports. You further state that your Government in asking for an assurance against detention of Netherlands ships, desires to obtain absolute certainty that Netherlands ships will always be enabled to return to a Netherlands or Netherlands colonial port.
In a note to me dated May 31 you supplement your note of May 2 by stating that you assume that the regulations which my Government has adopted to enable it to supervise shipping touching at United States ports, only apply to import, export and bunker licenses; the latter in so far as it has been enforced on Dutch shipping since last February.
In reply to your two notes above referred to, I have the honor to inform you that the regulations referred to as adopted to enable [Page 1488] my Government to supervise shipping touching at United States ports include all those laws, proclamations, orders, regulations and rules applicable to neutral shipping in a port of the United States. There are thus included not only export and import regulations and bunker regulations but also customs regulations, port rules, naval restrictions and other provisions to which neutral shipping in a port of the United States is required to subject itself. These regulations being designed to insure that the port facilities and resources in general of the United States are used only in a manner consistent with the national interest of the United States, my Government is not prepared to waive these regulations in favor of shipping flying the Netherlands flag. I am, however, glad to assure you that all of these regulations will be applied to Netherlands shipping in a manner so as to interfere as little as is possible, consistently with the national interests of the United States, with the normal activities of Netherlands shipping, and in particular I assure you that bunker regulations will be applied so as to permit ships of Netherlands registry which were in Dutch ports on March 20, and which may thereafter come to a port of the United States, to return to a Dutch port. To this extent Netherlands ships will be freely bunkered and may be assured of facilities for return to a Netherlands port in ballast even if, in the case of unexpected difficulties, it may not be possible to facilitate the shipment of goods on such ships. While my Government is prepared to give these assurances relative to insuring that such Netherlands ships coming to a port of the United States from a Dutch port will be enabled to return to a Dutch port, my Government is not able to agree in advance that Netherlands ships may avail of bunkers supplied by my Government to call at any ports of their choice en route, but my Government will be prepared to consider this aspect of the matter in individual cases as they arise.
I believe you will find that the inquiries contained in your note to me of May 8, 1918,1 are fully covered by the foregoing.
Accept [etc.]