File No. No. 600.119/1034
The Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of the Navy ( Daniels)
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 19th instant,1 enclosing a letter from Rear Admiral Knapp2 [Page 362] regarding the policy of the War Trade Board as to the status of Haiti and the Dominican Republic regarding imports and exports. You state that your Department is strongly of the opinion that these Republics should be placed on the same trade status as insular possessions of the United States.
In reply, I have the honor to say that this question is one which has been carefully considered by this Department, and while it is of the opinion that these Republics should not be considered as having a status similar to that of the insular possessions of the United States in so far as the Trading with the Enemy Act is concerned, it entirely concurs in the opinion of your Department as to the importance of giving special treatment to Haiti and the Dominican Republic in regard to their exports and imports whenever such treatment is possible.
I have [etc.]