611.3231/542: Telegram
The Ambassador in Brazil (Gibson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 7:55 p.m.]
74. I conveyed substance of Department’s telegram No. 64, August 19, 2 p.m., to Foreign Minister this afternoon. He said that he would take the matter up with the Minister of Finance this evening and hoped to communicate with me at an early date. In the meantime he asked that I inform the Department that the Brazilian Government was quite as anxious as we to get on with the negotiations along the line of the Department’s telegram; that they were prepared to begin preliminary conversations at once and that he felt safe in saying that any necessary experts would be promptly sent to Washington.
I am convinced from the Minister’s attitude and other evidence there is no ground for feeling that Brazilian Government is holding back in this matter. I happen to know that at least on two occasions they have telegraphed the Embassy in Washington to endeavor to find out what we want to do and when we would be prepared to begin discussions. It seems clear to me that they had an unpleasant shock a few [Page 19] months ago when there was talk of an import tax on coffee and that they will not feel entirely easy until the situation is covered by treaty.