811.612 Oranges/Spain/—: Telegram

The Ambassador in Spain (Moore) to the Secretary of State

78. Department’s 75, December 12, 3 p.m. My telegram No. 75 [76] of December 9, 11 a.m. [p.m.] was prompted by the following personal letter, which I received from General Primo de Rivera, December 9th:

“My dear friend: With surprise and extreme regret I learn that the Department of Agriculture of the United States of North America has decided to extend to the Spanish orange the embargo it has established on Almeria grapes for reasons of health.

It is not necessary to record all the measures taken against field parasites by the Almerian cultivators nor the favorable findings in their behalf resulting from the two visits of the North American officials sent over. The new regulation is so depreciatory to a Spanish product of world-wide renown, and one cultivated with such care as to render it preferable to the same product of competing countries, that I neither can nor should permit this action to pass unnoticed, calling the attention of the United States to the measures we will be forced to take in consonance therewith, although much to our regret and only as an obligatory response to an economic policy manifestly hardly favorable to Spain.

And this is so much the more regrettable since our oranges are not sent to America, it being evident therefore to your sagacious intelligence that the decision in question tends to discredit the Spanish Mediterranean orange in all the markets it commands at present, thus favoring international competition of a commercial order the details of which it is not necessary to state at this time nor the trend of the decision reached by your Department of Agriculture, and which I truly lament.

It is of further interest in the case to note that our commercial balance with the United States is extremely unfavorable to us, and, notwithstanding this, the Spanish Government not only interposes no impediment but facilitates economic interchange as far as possible, as is plainly demonstrated by the increase that has taken place in a short time of imports of American iron wares, machinery, and automobiles, while [at] the same time we observe how the figures of our exports to your country decrease daily, more especially as regards certain items such as grapes, canned sardines, wines, etc., which are practically the basis of our foreign trade with North America.

I wish, Mr. Ambassador, that you would meditate upon the facts stated herein and especially the differences in crowns [sic] so that you, [Page 717] so firm a friend of Spain and always so desirous of helping her, may realize the transcendent importance to our national economic situation of the measures decided upon, which, while ostensibly apart from the tariff system and outside the sphere thereof, affect the production of the country injured much more than tariff rates themselves however unfavorable they may be.

For this reason and hoping for your valuable intervention to promote swiftly and kindly the just claim of Spain.

Your very good friend,

(Signed) Marquis of Estella.”

Postscript in Primo de Rivera’s own hand:

“You are aware of my recent intervention in favor of American petroleum and my entire good will towards your country and will understand my sorrow at the attitude of your Government at this time when everything should tend [to] unite us in order to appear before America as bound by the same interests.”

Moore