611.006 Fish/11
Memorandum by the Assistant Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Fuller)
| Conversation: | The Japanese Chargé d’Affaires, Mr. Toshihiko Taketomi |
| Assistant Secretary Sayre | |
| Mr. Fuller. |
Mr. Taketomi called to pay his respects to Assistant Secretary Sayre. In the course of the conversation he stated that he had seen in the newspapers that Mr. Sayre was a member of some Government committee which was to take up the question, as he understood it, of restricting and controlling imports into the United States. Mr. Sayre explained the nature of the interdepartmental committee which is to consider the question of developing American foreign trade and also outlined plans in regard to reciprocal trade treaties.
Mr. Taketomi then said that he had seen in the newspapers reports to the effect that various American manufacturers and producers were anxious to have measures taken to restrict or to place on a quota imports of various commodities from Japan. He mentioned particularly tuna fish and lead pencils, which he said were not of great importance so far as volume of trade was concerned. He mentioned his [Page 800] understanding that the total import of lead pencils into the United States from Japan last year was valued at only about yen 10,000.
He then spoke of the action taken not long ago in British India toward raising the import tariff on Japanese cotton textiles to a point where it is practically prohibitive and he referred to the conference now in session at Simla to consider trade arrangements between India and Japan. He said that these questions with Great Britain and the British Empire had originally been purely commercial questions but that they had now developed into more or less political questions and had resulted in a good deal of undesirable agitation against Great Britain in Japan.
He expressed the hope that small and purely commercial questions like the tuna fish and lead pencil matters would be handled in such a manner that they would not lead to political agitation in Japan.
He stated that he was authorized by the Foreign Office to say that if measures to place these two commodities on a quota basis or to raise the import duties thereon could be prevented or forestalled, the Japanese Government would be prepared to consider exercising a control and limitation of the exports of these commodities from Japan to the United States. He said further that it was possible that the Embassy could suggest to Japanese importers in the United States that they enter into some sort of a code binding themselves not to cut prices on tuna fish and lead pencils. Mr. Taketomi asked that these considerations be borne in mind when matters of trade with Japan were under consideration.
Under instruction from Mr. Sayre, Mr. Fuller informed Mr. Herbert Feis, Economic Adviser, orally of this conversation.