711.415 Traders/2

The British Ambassador (Lindsay) to the Secretary of State

No. 474

Sir: On April 26th last [sic] I discussed with the Under Secretary of State the desire of His Majesty’s Government in Australia to remedy the situation under which Australian business men are unable under existing United States law to obtain visas as treaty traders. I have now been instructed by His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to inform you that since the question was first taken up in 1926 the Commonwealth Government have always believed that the United States Government were anxious to remove [Page 840] what is, in effect, an accidental discrimination against Australian business men as compared with business men from the United Kingdom. They desire to emphasize that United States business men have complete liberty to enter Australia on business, while Australian business men are obliged to enter the United States on visas as temporary visitors which have to be renewed every six months. They earnestly hope that the United States Government will see a way to meet their wishes in the matter at an early date and so remove a discrimination, which is always a cause of embarrassment to them.

It appears from previous discussions that this could most simply be achieved by the conclusion of a short ad hoc treaty extending specifically to Australian business men the right to enter the United States as treaty traders. I have accordingly been instructed to urge that such a treaty may be concluded, and that action may be taken to this end during the present session of Congress.

I have [etc.]

R. C. Lindsay