550.S1 Economic Commission/40: Telegram
The Chairman of the American Delegation (Hull) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received July 16—2:50 p.m.]
140. In various conversations and cables the President has suggested that the idea of an international agreement for the regulation of the production and marketing of copper be worked out. The work of the subcommittee of the Conference on the coordination of production and marketing seems to give a suitable opportunity for launching a proposal with this aim.
Therefore, unless I am instructed to the contrary before Tuesday,73 the American delegation may decide to introduce into this committee the following proposal:
“The Delegation of the United States of America calls attention to the desirability of considering plans for the coordination by international agreement of the production and marketing of copper which was included among the products mentioned in the proposal made by the French delegation on June 19 (Conference M.E./C.E.8). In order to provide the basis for the future discussion of plans for the coordination of production and marketing of copper further preliminary studies should be made. Accordingly it is proposed that the governments of the copper producing countries submit to the Secretary General of the Monetary and Economic Conference before September 15, 1933, their views and proposals concerning the organization of the production of copper and of the international trade in this product with a view to the summoning of a suitable meeting to effectuate agreement”.
This merely provides for future action.74 Because of the advanced stage of the work of the Conference and the difficulty of deciding here just what commitments the American Government might be willing to assume in regard to an agreement it would appear inadvisable for the delegation to attempt to frame the terms of actual agreement at the present time. In view of the fact that the time allowed for the submission of actual proposals is short it would be advisable that the proper American governmental agencies should begin the necessary study at once and undertake possibly the exchange of views with the producers.