611.60 d 31/42: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Finland (Pearson)
28. The Finnish Minister here informed the Department on November 23 that a treaty between Finland and Spain, providing for certain conventional duties lower than the lowest rates the Government is authorized to grant without legislative approval, will go into effect on November 27.10 The commercial agreement with the United States, signed May 2, 1925, not having been ratified by the Diet, the Minister states that his Government is not empowered to extend conventional duties to American goods as contemplated by the most-favored-nation clause.
Please keep Department fully informed and, unless you have reasons for not doing so, you should urge the Finnish Government to bring about ratification at the earliest practicable date and make it retroactive to November 27. Should some days intervene an arrangement might be made for admitting goods under bond or remitting duties paid in excess of the new conventional rates as soon as the commercial agreement of May 2 is fully ratified. The best means for protecting American interests would seem to depend upon the exact situation and you are accordingly authorized to use your best judgment in the matter.
- Treaty of July 16, 1925; see League of Nations, Treaty Series, vol. xlvii, p. 271.↩