835.5151/726

The Ambassador in Argentina (Weddell) to the Secretary of State

No. 1710

Sir: I have the honor to recall to the Department its telegraphic instruction No. 16 [15] of February 2, 1937, 2 p.m., directing me to present to the Minister for Foreign Affairs a note along the lines indicated therein relative to securing for American trade equality of treatment in exchange matters. It will be recalled that immediately after presenting this note, in accordance with the above instruction, I departed from Argentina on leave.

During my absence, as is evident from communications exchanged with the Department, this important subject was carefully pursued by the Embassy, and since my return I have persisted in efforts to obtain some action from the Argentine Government.

On August 18 I again discussed the matter with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, going over all the arguments contained in the Department’s telegraphic instruction of February 2.

The Minister, whose attitude at the moment was doubtless deeply influenced by the repercussion of events in connection with the proposed lease of destroyers to Brazil,36 professed entire agreement with the Department’s views in their general lines, and said that he would speak to the Minister of Finance on the subject. Following this and after further discussion he telephoned to the Finance Minister in my presence making an appointment for me to see him. In his telephone conversation he pointed out to this official that the application of discriminatory exchange regulations against the United States was calculated to harm commercial relations and urged him to weigh the political aspect of the entire subject.

I called the Finance Minister on August 19 and went over the ground with him, emphasizing that the essence of our complaint was against what we considered the discrimination being practiced, which involved [Page 247] a wrong principle in international commercial relations, the latter a viewpoint which Argentina shared, as evidenced by its attitude at the December conference.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Acevedo, then said that he wished to emphasize to me that the attitude of his Government toward the United States was most friendly and that the application of the discriminatory features of the exchange regulations ran equally against all countries which did not have some commercial arrangement with Argentina. I countered this by pointing out that the merchants of certain countries with which they had no trade agreement but who were heavy purchasers in the Argentine market had no difficulty in obtaining official exchange. Without attempting exactly to refute this, the Minister remarked that it must be borne in mind that a presidential term was ending, that exchange control in one form or another had lasted for nearly six years, and that it was simply out of the question for the outgoing Administration to strip the incoming Government of measures which the present one was applying and had applied with a degree of success. Speaking further he said that the various restrictive measures which they had taken had been forced on them by world events for which they were in no way responsible.

The practical result of my visit was that the Minister asked me to let him have a memorandum of those articles whose importation appeared to be most adversely affected by the application of the twenty per cent, surtax of which I had complained. The request for this information, which in fact had already been given the Finance Ministry some months ago, might at least indicate an intention on the part of the Argentine Government to adopt a more liberal attitude in the granting of official exchange, while maintaining the principle against which my arguments were in large measure directed; but this is only a surmise.

The Department will be promptly informed of any further developments in this matter, which, it is assured, is receiving the constant attention of the Embassy.

Respectfully yours,

Alexander W. Weddell
  1. See pp. 149 ff.