611.4731/318
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Trade Agreements (Hawkins)
| Participants: | Mr. Frank Keith Officer, Australian Counselor of the British Embassy; |
| Mr. John D. Hickerson; | |
| Mr. Harry C. Hawkins. |
We handed Mr. Officer the attached memorandum28 on the subject of trade-agreement negotiations with Australia, explaining to him that it should be read in conjunction with statements made orally to him and the Ambassador last Friday. Mr. Officer at first reading of the memorandum expressed mild disappointment with it, but on further perusal seemed not too dissatisfied.
With reference to the visit of Australian officials to the United States en route to London, Mr. Officer said that the original plan had been to land at Vancouver and immediately to cross into the United States and come to Washington through this country. He said that it might be preferable with a view to showing that the visit to the United States is only an incidental side trip on the way to London if the Australian officials should cross Canada to Montreal and then pay a brief visit to Washington from there. We said that perhaps this might be slightly preferable.
Mr. Officer said that he had talked by phone to Mr. Bruce and that the latter had asked for an estimate as to when definitive negotiations might actively begin in Washington. Mr. Officer said he had indicated July as a possibility and inquired whether we thought this was a fair estimate. We told him that we simply were not in a position at this time to judge.
Mr. Officer later phoned to say that he understood the memorandum would not be made public unless the two Governments should agree to it, and that he was advising his Government to this effect. He was informed that the memorandum should be regarded as confidential and had been so marked.
- Infra.↩