851.512/48
The Chargé in Frame (Whitehouse) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 25.]
Sir: I have the honor to invite the attention of the Department to the fact that Article 44 of the French law of March 22, 1924, states that the reductions in taxes given on account of the size of the family will only be accorded to the citizens of those countries which possess treaties of reciprocity with France. A copy and translation of the article in question are enclosed herewith.14
The only clause that I have been able to find in the conventual [conventional?] relations between the United States and France which might have a bearing on this question is Article XI of the Convention of Peace, Commerce and Navigation of 1800,15 which states that American citizens shall pay in French territory no other or greater duties or imposts than those which the nations most favored are or shall be obliged to pay.
As the Embassy has already been asked to define the rights of American citizens under the 1924 law, I should appreciate the Department’s instructions in this regard.
I have [etc.]