611.6531/287
Memorandum by the Assistant Chief of the Division of Western European Affairs (Culbertson)
Mr. Angelone came in this morning to discuss informally questions arising in connection with the proposed Italian-American trade agreement. His first inquiry was with regard to the oral proposals made to the Italian Ambassador by Mr. Sayre that the two governments mutually agree to a renunciation of Articles VI and XXIV of the Treaty of 1871 and reiterated his statement that he thought it best to go forward with the trade agreement negotiations in the expectation that the resulting agreement would contain provisions which would meet the present difficulties. Angelone put forward the ideas that Italy has always favored most-favored-nation treatment; that the exigencies of the present financial situation in Italy has forced his Government to adopt its present commercial policies; that the situation is temporary and that the provisions of the existing treaty should not be thrown over because of Italy’s temporary difficulties.
Angelone then asked when this Government might be prepared to exchange desiderata. I told him that we are rather loath to set our whole machinery going in order to draw up our desiderata without knowing pretty well what we could expect of the Italian Government; that we would draw up our requests on a basis of all our exports; that it seemed to me that Italy was interested mainly in the purchase of raw materials and would probably give no guarantees in respect of industrial exports; that we would expect proportionate treatment for all quotas; and that since Italy was, so far as I could see, not prepared to meet us I saw no useful purpose to be served in drawing up a lot of requests which Italy could not or would not meet. Angelone’s [Page 542] argument was that Italy would undertake to purchase from the United States as much in dollars and cents as she has in the past and that we should look at the problem from a practical point of view and obtain benefits for a substantial part of our trade. In summarizing the Italian proposal Angelone agreed that it came down to this: (1) Italy would undertake to buy as much or more in dollars and cents as she had in the past; (2) she would undertake in this agreement guarantees in respect of a “substantial” part of American exports to Italy; but (3) would not give guarantees in respect of the remainder of our exports. I told him I would not even express a personal opinion with regard to the proposal but would have the matter laid before the Secretary for decision.