611.60F31/262
Memorandum by the Assistant Chief of the Division of European Affairs (Culbertson)
Mr. Kabeláč came in this afternoon to discuss certain questions with regard to the forthcoming trade agreement negotiations. He left with me the attached list of items18 with the request that the first [Page 246] four be omitted from the published list, and that the last two items be included. He stated that all of these items are on the list which was presented to him by the Department some time ago.
He asked what decision if any had been reached with regard to the Czech request on beer and two or three other items. I told him that I had just returned this morning and would have to look into that question.
Mr. Kabeláč said that a list of commodities on which we would seek concessions from Czechoslovakia had been received in Prague, and that he had just this morning received a telegram from Stangler indicating that Stangler was rather confused with regard to this list and wondered whether we could indicate to the Czechs at least the nature of the concession we would seek with regard to each individual item. I told Kabeláč that our studies so far made were only preliminary, but that I would see whether it might not be possible to give his Government such indications. He also suggested that his Government might wish some of these commodities left off the list just as we had asked them to omit some of the items which they had included in their list. I told Kabeláč that the situation would seem to be a little different in that we were under obligation to publish the list of commodities which we were considering, but I did not believe that his Government was under such an obligation.
Mr. Kabeláč then inquired what my ideas were with regard to procedure in negotiations. I told him that I felt that we might, prior to the conclusion of the public hearings, undertake sessions with regard to the general provisions and also with regard to the question of Danubian preference. His inquiries with regard to the general provisions were enough to indicate that he had not even read the mimeographed draft which I gave him some weeks ago. I told him that his Government should consider this mimeographed draft as our proposal, and that it should study the draft in that light, accepting as many of the provisions as it can, and preparing counter-proposals on any articles with which the Czech Government finds difficulty.
- Not printed.↩