Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1933, The British Commonwealth, Europe, Near East and Africa, Volume II

611.47H31/30

The Secretary of State to the Consul General at Wellington (Hitch)

Washington , September 7, 1933.

Sir: Reference is made to your despatch No. 318 of June 21, 1933, enclosing a copy of a letter from the Acting Prime Minister of New Zealand in which he states that his Government is anxious to enter into negotiations with the Government of the United States with a view to the conclusion of a trade agreement which will be to the mutual advantage of both countries.

For your strictly confidential information you are advised that when the Department’s instruction of May 17, and telegram of May 26, 1933, were forwarded to you, the possibility existed that the President would request of Congress general authority for the negotiation of reciprocal trade agreements which would come into force without further action by the Congress, and it was expected that such enabling legislation would be enacted before adjournment of the special session.

In the absence of such legislation, the Department has instituted exploratory conversations with five countries³ with a view to determining the practicability of negotiating reciprocal trade agreements involving tariff reductions on the part of the United States which would be given effect by Congress subsequent to their conclusion. Until these conversations shall have been concluded and the practicability of this procedure shall have been ascertained, it is not considered advisable to institute further conversations of this character.

There is enclosed for your confidential information a memorandum of conversation on this subject⁴ held on August 15, 1933, between officers of the Department and the Honorable Robert Masters, Minister of Education and Minister of Industries and Commerce, Government of New Zealand, and certain officers of the New Zealand Government. As you will note, Mr. Masters was assured that the Government of the United States also wishes to conclude a reciprocal trade agreement with the New Zealand Government and will gladly take the matter up if and when it is practicable to do so.

Very truly yours,

For the Secretary of State:

Jefferson Caffery

3. For correspondence concerning the discussions with Portugal and Sweden, see post, pp. 640 ff. and pp. 719 ff.; for similar correspondence with Argentina, see vol. iv, pp. 642 ff.; with Brazil and Colombia, see vol. v, pp. 13 ff. and pp. 217 ff.
4. Supra.