611.5331/68
Memorandum by the Acting Secretary of State (Phillips)
I asked the Portuguese Chargé d’Affaires1 to call this morning and told him that we desired to explore the possibilities of negotiating some sort of reciprocal trade agreement between the United States and Portugal. The Chargé d’Affaires said he was glad to hear this, that just before Viscount d’Alte2 retired he had received a communication from the Foreign Office, asking whether there was any possibility of negotiating on a reciprocal basis.
I asked the Chargé d’Affaires when the new Minister would arrive and was informed that he was expected about the middle of September. I said that I should be grateful if the Chargé d’Affaires would write to his new Chief to tell him of our conversations and suggest that when he arrives here it would be a good time to discuss these questions, that he would then be in a position to have the latest information from his Government. The Chargé d’Affaires agreed and said he would communicate at once with the Foreign Office and felt sure that the Minister would be glad to go into the subject on his arrival.