611.3531/128

Memorandum by the Secretary of State

The Argentine Ambassador1 came in and propounded three or four inquiries, one of which related generally to the matter of steps looking towards the improvement of commercial relations between his country and mine. A second inquiry related to the question of whether this Government would undertake to negotiate individual reciprocity treaties very soon, to which I replied that it would probably be found a wiser policy for all countries to join in making the forthcoming World Economic Conference2 a real success, and that with a program of economic policies thus agreed upon, it would be all the easier for individual nations to agree upon reciprocity arrangements.

I expressed the view that our country would, at least for some years, need a substantial amount of flaxseed, hides and possibly wool, and certain other commodities produced by his country, to supply the deficiency of our domestic production, or to supplement the qualities of our production with the different qualities of the Argentine production.

Another inquiry related to the time when a new Ambassador would probably be appointed to Argentina, to which I replied that the matter had not yet been taken up.

C[ordell] H[ull]
  1. Felipe A. Espil.
  2. For correspondence concerning the World Monetary and Economic Conference, see vol. i, pp. 452 ff.