611.60F31/75
The Czechoslovak Minister (Veverka) to the Secretary of State
Excellency: Referring to the agreement by exchange of notes18 regarding the treatment to be accorded by the Czechoslovak Republic and the United States of America to the commerce of the other which was signed this day, I have the honor to set forth that my Government has the following understanding of the interpretation to be placed upon the term “fair and equitable treatment” as used in Sections two and three of the said Agreement.
With reference to Section two of the Agreement, it is understood that, with respect to the exchange made available for commercial transactions, the Government of each country shall be guided in the administration of any form of control of foreign exchange by the principle that, as nearly as may be determined, the share of the total available exchange which is allotted to the other country shall not be less than the share employed in a previous representative period prior to the establishment of any exchange control for the settlement of commercial obligations to the nationals of such other country.
With reference to Section three of the said Agreement, it is understood that if the Government of the United States of America or the Government of the Czechoslovak Republic establishes or maintains any form of quantitative restriction or control of the importation or sale of any article in which the other country has an interest, or imposes a lower import duty or charge on the importation or sale of a specified quantity of any such article than the duty or charge imposed on importation in excess of such quantity, the Government taking such action will allot among exporting countries the total quantity as originally established or subsequently changed in any manner, of any such article permitted to be imported or sold or permitted to be imported or sold at such lower duty or charge, during a specified period, unless it is mutually agreed to dispense with such allotment; and in such allotment will grant to the other country a share of such total quantity equivalent to the proportion of the total importation of such article which such other country supplied during a previous representative period.
Accept [etc.]
- Supra.↩