611.2131/279: Telegram
The Chargé in Colombia (Washington) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:10 p.m.]
10. My 4, January 3, 4 p.m.2 The illness of several responsible officials, the Colombian Government’s preoccupation with the Rio de Janeiro Pact,3 internal financial problems and other matters have caused repeated postponements of the meeting of the various officials concerned, which was scheduled for last week to consider the United States Government’s revised proposals for a commercial treaty. It now appears probable that the first meeting will not be held until next week and there may now be considerable discussion when they begin.
Commercial Attaché has had several private conversations with Dr. Arturo Hernández, Chief of the Customs Tribunal, who was one of the Colombian negotiators of the treaty signed in December 1933.4 The latter has raised certain objections to the revised proposals. These concern the elimination of the anti-dumping clause; the change in the wording of article 2 to read “ordinary customs duties” instead of “all customs duties”; the revision of the old article 4; the last two paragraphs of article 7 which he considers superfluous between two friendly nations; and article 10.
Commercial Attaché has been discussing these objections personally with Hernández and entertains hopes of causing him to modify them before the plenary meeting by means of the arguments put forth in the Department’s memorandum and telegrams on the subject.
Hernández’s word will be highly regarded as that of an expert on the question but it is felt that his objections may not carry as great weight as might be expected when he meets the other officials as several of [Page 431] them, including the President, have expressed a definite desire to conclude a commercial treaty with the United States and put it into effect at the earliest opportunity.
- Not printed.↩
- For correspondence concerning the Leticia dispute, see pp. 199 ff.; for text of the Rio de Janeiro Pact, see Foreign Relations, 1934, vol. iv, p. 361.↩
- Unperfected treaty signed December 15, 1933, ibid., 1933, vol. v, p. 249.↩