811.801/677
The Polish Embassy to the Department of State
1) The attention of the Embassy has been drawn to a bill known as H. R. 112 now pending before the United States Congress which, if passed, would prevent any foreign vessel from transporting passengers between ports or places in the United States even though such transportation were to take place by way of a foreign port or on a continuous voyage terminating at the port of departure or at any other port in the United States.
[Page 613]2) The Department is no doubt aware that Polish steamship lines, notably the Gdynia America Line, have been for some time past engaged in trade of this kind, their ships departing from the port of New York and, after calling at one or several foreign ports, returning to their port of departure in the United States.
Under the bill referred to the Polish lines would be prevented not only from taking passengers on their cruises to nearby foreign ports, but also from accepting round-trip bookings for any voyages involving a call at a United States port.
3) The curtailment of trade as envisaged by H. R. 112, forms a direct contravention of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Consular Rights concluded between Poland and the United States on June 15, 1931.10 Article X of the Treaty provides not only that
“Merchant vessels and other privately owned vessels under the flag of either of the High Contracting Parties shall be permitted to discharge portions of cargoes at any port open to foreign commerce in the territories of the other High Contracting Party, and to proceed with the remaining portions of such cargoes to any other ports of the same territories open to foreign commerce”—
but stipulates that no higher dues than those paid by national vessels in like circumstances should be levied on vessels of the other High Contracting Party.
Although it is stipulated that the coasting trade of the High Contracting Parties is exempt from the provisions of this Article, it is obvious that the application of the term “coasting trade” to Polish vessels departing from an American port and returning thereto after calling at one or several foreign ports would nullify whatever benefits Poland may have derived from this part of the Treaty and distort the intentions of the Contracting Parties at the time of the conclusion of the Treaty.
Additional evidence as to the inconsistency of the pending bill with the Treaty is seen in Article VIII which provides, in respect of dues and charges of whatever denomination, an equality of treatment which
“shall apply reciprocally to the vessels of the two countries respectively from whatever place they may arrive and whatever may be their place of destination”
4) That the above interpretation of the effect of legislation of this kind on treaties concluded between the United States and other Powers was at one time concurred in by the Department is seen from a letter written by the then Secretary of State, Mr. Henry L. Stimson, on March 3, 1932, to the Chairman of the United States Senate [Page 614] Committee on Commerce in connection with the so-called Cruising Ship Bill (S. 3502), the provisions of which were identical with the H. R. 112. At that time Mr. Stimson wrote that
“you may desire to consider whether the proposal contained in this bill to extend the effect of our coastwise navigation laws to foreign ships which sail from an American port and, after calling at one or more foreign ports return to the American port of departure, does not involve an artificial extension of the definition of coastwise trade beyond all precedent and beyond any previous application of the term.…
“In considering the effect of the enactment by the Congress of the United States of the bills of the character of S. 3501 and S. 3502, it should be noted that they are radical departures from the long-established practice of non-discrimination between flags in international trade, a practice which has been developed through many years, and has been embodied in the treaty-making policy of the United States.”
5) While it is realized that the bill in question is still the object of discussion within the legislative branch of the United States government, the Embassy feels that the members of the Committee before whom this legislation is pending may be interested in studying its possible effects on the Treaty concluded between Poland and the United States.