665.116/223: Telegram
The Ambassador in Italy (Long) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 18—2:40 p.m.]
201. In reply to Embassy’s note verbale based on Department’s 72, August 27, 4 p.m.; and 70, August 21, 7 p.m., Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs replies as follows:
“The contents of the above-mentioned note verbale were submitted to the careful consideration of the appropriate Royal authorities who—after again pointing out the exceptional and temporary character of the measures recently taken by the Royal Government to restrict imports into the Kingdom—have confirmed the fact that in assigning quotas the imports from the different countries during the given year were taken as the basis for each commodity and that the proportion existing during that year between the imports of the product from the different countries has been maintained unaltered.
The method followed therefore appears to conform to the assurances requested by the Embassy.
[Page 601]As to the year chosen as the basis for the quota the method followed by the Royal Government is to place the imports of each commodity on the basis of a year during which they represented normal requirements.
Finally as to the retroactive character of the measures in question it is to be noted that the Royal Government has been forced to follow this method—which has furthermore already been adopted by other countries—because of the urgent necessity of checking certain imports which during the first few months of the current year had taken on proportions such as to inflict serious hardship on Italian producers.
The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the honor to assure the Embassy of the United States in any case that the appropriate Royal authorities will consider with the utmost good-will any individual difficulties which might arise as a result of the measures in question.”
In addition to Embassy’s representations, representative in Italy of Swift Company has filed protest with Italian authorities on lard quota (see my 708, September 15th14). Inform Commerce.
- Not printed.↩