Office of the Historian

635.4131/82: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Argentina (White)

Washington, May 5, 1933—7 p.m.

24. In examining article 2, clause 1, of Anglo-Argentine agreement,3 [Page 729] Department has reached following tentative statement of amounts of exchange affected:

Assuming exchange available in 1933 as 870,000,000 paper pesos, the “full amount of sterling exchange arising from the sale of Argentine products to the United Kingdom” will be about 300,000,000 paper pesos. From this there may be a deduction of a reasonable sum annually toward payment on service of Argentine public external debts in countries other than the United Kingdom. The total of the latter charges we estimate as 100,000,000 paper pesos, taking public debt charges payable in United Kingdom as about 80,000,000 more. The 300,000,000 pesos less a reasonable part of the 100,000,000 service charges payable outside the United Kingdom “shall be available for the purpose of meeting applicants for current remittances from Argentina to the United Kingdom.”

1932 requirements for current remittances to the United Kingdom are estimated as 180,000,000 pesos for imports into Argentina, nearly 160,000,000 for account of public utility companies, and 20,000,000 for shipping companies.

Apparently agreement would not insure current transfers without further freezing of British accounts, which agreement was designed to obviate.

Telegraph verification or criticism of these estimates with such appropriate comment as you may desire to make.

Hull

  1. The text of article 2, clause 1, is as follows:

    “Whenever any system of exchange control is in operation in Argentina, the conditions under which foreign currency shall be made available in any year shall be such as to secure that there shall be available, for the purpose of meeting applications for current remittances from Argentina to the United Kingdom, the full amount of sterling exchange arising from the sale of Argentine products in the United Kingdom after deduction of a reasonable sum annually towards the payment of the service of the Argentine public external debts (national, provincial and municipal) payable in countries other than the United Kingdom.” (635.4131/87)

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