681.003/214
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Western European Affairs (Dunn)
The Minister of the Netherlands8 came in this morning to discuss the questions he brought up on his visit to the Department on February 12, as set forth in a memorandum of that date9 which he left with me.
[Page 415]This memorandum brought up the subject of the Dahirs which have been issued in the Spanish and French Zones of Morocco affecting the importation of various articles from abroad into those zones. The Minister stated that in the opinion of his Government many of these Dahirs resulted in discriminations against the importation of foreign products in favor of French or Spanish products according to the particular zone in which the Dahir went into effect. He asked whether we had had occasion to make any protest against the operation of these Dahirs.
I informed the Minister of the action we had taken with regard to these Dahirs along the following lines, and further informed the Minister that any later information which came to light in this relation we would be glad to give him:
The Diplomatic Agent at Tangier has been active in protesting, under instructions from the Department of State, to the Protectorate authorities of Morocco against their violations of the letter and the spirit of the Moroccan treaties. Twenty-four such violations have been noted since 1930. In fact, because of Mr. Blake’s long service in Tangier, and because the United States has never waived its capitulatory rights in Morocco, it may be said that the American Diplomatic Agent in that country has taken the lead in opposing infringement upon the rights of the United States, and by implication, upon the rights of the other nations signatory of the Act of Algeciras.10
On November 9, 1934, the Chief of the Western European Division (Mr. Moffat) gave the Chargé d’Affaires of the Netherlands an accurate summary of this Government’s position with respect to Morocco when he said, in substance, that from our point of view the essence of the Moroccan question is the maintenance of the “open door” in that country.11
We do not uncompromisingly oppose any change in the existing regime; in fact, we have already suggested that a higher tariff on goods entering Morocco would not be an unacceptable solution to the financial problems said to be confronting the Protectorate authorities. We have always held, however, that the parties to the Act of Algeciras should be consulted and that each Power should acquiesce before any change is made in the customs regime in Morocco.
The Department is engaged at the present time in studying the question of its present and future relations with Morocco. It is hoped that this study will be concluded within a few weeks. We will then be in a position to discuss these matters further with the Netherlands Minister.
- Jonkheer H. M. van Haersma de With.↩
- Not printed.↩
- General Act of the International Conference of Algeciras, signed April 7, 1906, Foreign Relations, 1906, pt. 2, p. 1495.↩
- Ibid., 1934, vol. ii, p. 855.↩