611.5331/70
Memorandum by the Acting Secretary of State (Phillips)
The Portuguese Chargé d’Affaires handed me the accompanying note3 in which his Government accepts the suggestion of preliminary conversations in regard to a projected trade agreement. I expressed satisfaction at this reply and asked the Chargé d’Affaires whether he had any idea when his Government would be disposed to begin the conversations. Mr. da Silva did not know. I said that inasmuch as the new Minister would [Page 641] not arrive for a couple of months, it seemed a pity that meanwhile we should not be making a little progress; and I suggested that he ask his Government whether it could be prepared to send him instructions on which he could open the conversations, or whether his Government preferred to wait until the arrival of the new Minister. I added that as far as this Government was concerned, I thought we would be ready to talk within a week or ten days. The Chargé said that he would communicate with his Government and let me know as soon as he had received a reply.
- Not printed.↩