684.003/15
The Acting Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs (Ailing) to the Second Secretary of the French Embassy (Bousquet)
My Dear Mr. Bousquet: Please accept my thanks for your letter of July 8, 1931, enclosing a memorandum setting forth the viewpoint of your Government regarding tariff modification and judicial privileges for foreigners in Ethiopia.
I believe that our Embassy at Paris has given your Foreign Office our general views on these questions which briefly are as follows:
- 1.
- We are disposed to give the Ethiopians freedom of action in the matter of customs tariffs provided that our trade receives treatment not less favorable than that accorded to any third country.
- 2.
- In view of the undeveloped state of the present judicial system in Ethiopia we think that suitable provision should be made for the continuance of extraterritorial jurisdiction.
We are authorizing our Minister Resident at Addis Ababa to join with his colleagues of the Diplomatic Corps in discussing the means by which some general agreement on this question may be worked out.
Very sincerely yours,