611.5131/1226
Memorandum by the Secretary of State
The French Ambassador called and appeared considerably agitated about the receipt of cables from his Government to the effect that this Government was definitely slowing down and allowing to drift the trade agreement conversations between the two Governments. He talked as though he was in distress because of optimistic representations he had made with regard to the desire of this Government to work out a mutually satisfactory trade agreement. I stated to him that I would do all within my power to facilitate these conversations and the trade agreement undertaking; that I could not until a week later undertake to be more definite, except to say that the progress here in the State Department seemed to be about normal in such cases; that later during the present week the Committee on Commercial Policy would give a number of important phases earnest consideration, and that I hoped we could within another two or three weeks determine just about what might be a possibility in the way of a trade agreement. I then said that naturally our Government would be concerned to know just how stable a tariff reduction below the French minimum rates would be and just what quantity would be contemplated by the French suggestion of increases of quotas to the United States under the proposed agreement. The Ambassador said they would of course undertake to make clear, and he believed satisfactorily, their attitude with respect to these matters. I again assured him that I would do the best I could to facilitate the conversations, but reminded him that England had only negotiated 17 trade agreements during the past three years, and Germany not much more than [Page 231] 20, and that naturally the full details of such agreements required considerable time and labor. He indicated his appreciation of this view.