560.M2/145: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Wilson)
47. Your despatch 294, February 16. Please present before May 1 the following communication to the Secretary General of the League of Nations:
“With reference to the communication of February 13 addressed to the Secretary of State of the United States by the Acting Secretary General,15 I have been instructed to present the following observations of the Government of the United States in regard to the communications received by the Secretary General pursuant to the terms of paragraph (ii) of sub-section (d) of Section IV of the Protocol to the Convention for the Abolition of Import and Export Prohibitions and Restrictions.16
The Government of the United States is greatly disappointed to note the number and extent of the exceptions requested by the signatory states, and considers that such extensive exceptions are clearly contrary to the spirit and purpose of the convention. Acceptance of the exceptions claimed would detract very materially from its usefulness, if not tend to render it nugatory. Furthermore, the Government of the United States regrets to find in certain of the declarations and observations presented a disposition to prepare the way for subsequently claiming additional exceptions.
The observations and communications of a number of governments indicate a tendency to claim for their own part the right to make exceptions that may be admitted in favor of other governments. Accordingly, exceptions specified by particular countries have to be considered not merely in relation to the foreign commerce of those countries in the articles in question, but rather in the light of the possible effect of the general application of such exceptions by other countries as well.
The Government of the United States is strongly of the opinion that every effort should be made to dispense with exceptions, and in principle is not disposed to agree to exceptions under the terms of Article 6 of the convention unless it clearly appears that such exceptions would not be contrary to the spirit and purpose of the convention. The Government of the United States therefore reserves the right to object at the appropriate time to any or all of the exceptions specified or desired by the signatory states.”
Telegraph briefly and report fully by mail concerning the observations submitted by the several countries.