611B.9417/134
Memorandum by Mr. Roy Veatch of the Office of the Economic Adviser
| Conversation: | Mr. Seijiro Yoshizawa, Counselor of the Japanese Embassy, |
| Mr. Sayre, | |
| Mr. Turner, | |
| Mr. Veatch. |
Mr. Yoshizawa had been asked to call to discuss the statement of his Government regarding wool-knit gloves which he had left with Mr. Veatch on Saturday, February 1. In view of the fact that he had spoken with Mr. Veatch over the telephone on Monday, February 3, with regard to future negotiations regarding adjustment of the Philippine cotton textile agreement, this matter was taken up first.
Philippine Textile Agreement
Mr. Yoshizawa repeated what he had said to Mr. Veatch on the telephone, that the cable he had received February 3 from Kurusu in the Foreign Office stated that the Foreign Office had been informed by the American Commercial Attaché in Tokyo that in the future negotiations regarding the textile agreement would be handled through the American Embassy in Tokyo. The cable to Mr. Yoshizawa had referred then to information contained in Mr. Yoshizawa’s cable to the Foreign Office some days earlier, in which he had repeated the statement contained in the Department’s instructions to the American Embassy in Tokyo to the effect that it was not intended to [Page 830] transfer negotiations from Washington to Tokyo. Mr. Yoshizawa merely wished to straighten out the matter so that he and his Government might know the wish of this Government.
Mr. Sayre confirmed Mr. Yoshizawa’s understanding of the instructions to Tokyo and said that it had been our intention to continue to handle arrangement of the details of such agreements through the Embassy here. It was probable that the misunderstanding had arisen out of the fact that the Department had considered it necessary to ask the Embassy in Tokyo to negotiate a definite agreement regarding February shipments when the Department had learned January 30 that the Embassy had not transmitted the suggestion of the Department with regard to this matter.
Mr. Yoshizawa wished to explain the action of the Embassy with respect to the suggestion regarding February shipments. He said that he had not failed to inform his Government of the suggestion but he had not stated in his cable that the American Government asked for such an agreement—he had merely referred to the probability that such a request would be made through the American Embassy in Tokyo.
Mr. Yoshizawa was asked if the cable he had received from Tokyo clearly stated that the American Commercial Attaché had said that “in the future” all negotiations regarding this matter would be handled in Tokyo. Mr. Turner and Mr. Yoshizawa then examined the Japanese text of this cable and agreed that this was clearly the meaning of the statement contained therein.
In response to an inquiry, Mr. Yoshizawa said that Kurusu was clearly the one person in the Japanese Government who could secure the sort of voluntary action on the part of Japanese exporters in which this Government was interested, if such agreements could be secured at all. It was desirable to handle the matter through him. There had been much talk recently of his appointment as Ambassador to Brussels.
United States Imports of Wool-Knit Gloves
With respect to the statement which Mr. Yoshizawa had left with Mr. Veatch on Saturday, Mr. Sayre said that he was going to be frank and even blunt and to make no attempt to be diplomatic. The time had already dragged on to the point where action must be taken very quickly if the Tariff Commission’s report under Section 336 were not to be presented to the President and acted upon by him. He had had prepared a statement setting forth the problem and a definite proposal, which he handed to Mr. Yoshizawa (copy of which is attached to this memorandum.)21 This statement was read out loud.
[Page 831]Mr. Yoshizawa’s comment was that this ultimatum would be very hard for the Japanese exporters to swallow. He was informed that they already had contracts for 1936 which would require the delivery to the United States of at least double the proposed quota.
Mr. Sayre emphasized the fact that there was no alternative between action along these lines and recommendation by the Tariff Commission of a shift to the American selling price in the collection of duty on imports of wool-knit gloves and mittens. This Government had done everything possible to present the case to the Japanese at the earliest possible moment, in conformity with the promise Mr. Sayre had made to the Japanese Ambassador several months ago, and it had gone just as far [as] possible in making a liberal offer to the Japanese. Furthermore, it was understood that this whole matter had not come suddenly to the attention of the Japanese since the Commercial Secretary22 in New York had been informed of it last summer or fall.
Mr. Yoshizawa confirmed the fact that Mr. Inouye had learned of the situation (Mr. Yoshizawa thought toward the end of September 1935) and had reported it to Tokyo. (Mr. Yoshizawa then repeated the description of the industry and its problems which he had included in his conversation with Mr. Veatch on February 1.)
Later in the afternoon Mr. Yoshizawa telephoned Mr. Veatch to clarify the use of words under paragraph 4 on page 2 where it was stated that the limitation for the calendar year 1936 was to be based upon “actual arrivals in this country (general imports)”. In response Mr. Veatch explained the meaning of “general imports” and of “imports for consumption”, making the point that basing the arrivals from Japan upon general imports would not require the inclusion in the maximum amount of the 34,000 dozen pairs of Japanese gloves in bonded warehouses on December 31, whereas imports for consumption would make it necessary to include these gloves in the year’s total if they were entered through customs.
At the suggestion of Mr. Fox,23 Mr. Veatch called Mr. Yoshizawa still later in the afternoon to make it entirely clear that all wool-knit gloves and mittens arriving in the United States from Japan were to be included in the agreement and no gloves appearing under different classifications in the tariff were to fall outside of the limitation.
A copy is attached of the statement handed to Mr. Veatch by Mr. Yoshizawa February 1, 1936.24