811.114 Liquor/1214¼
The Adviser on Political Relations (Dunn) to the Secretary of State
Mr. Secretary: Mr. Garreau-Dombasle, Commercial Counselor of the French Embassy, has again expressed the anxiety of his Government over the possibility that the President may decide to appoint a majority of the members of the Federal Alcohol Administration and thus cause Section 506 of the Liquor Tax Administration Act13 (H. R. 9185) to become effective. It is Section 506 of that Act which authorizes the use of certain names of French origin (Cognac, Medoc, St. Julien, et cetera) in labeling wines produced in this country. That Section does not take effect until a majority of the members of the Federal Alcohol Administration have qualified and taken office.
Mr. Garreau-Dombasle expressed the hope that something might be done to remove this uncertainty and at the same time afford adequate protection to French names of origin, particularly to “Cognac”.
It appears that this matter was brought to the attention of the President in July 1936, and it is our understanding that he was urged at that time not to appoint the members of the Federal Alcohol Administration until an opportunity had been had to revise this legislation or to modify its application in a manner which would offer protection to the French in the use of their own names. Since then, Congress has met in its regular session of this year, and later adjourned without anything apparently having been done toward meeting the French desires in this matter.
We assume that the time will eventually come when the President will find it desirable to appoint the members of the Federal Alcohol Administration. It would appear, therefore, that it might be wise for us to formulate without delay some plan of action which we may pursue, either now or later, toward obtaining for the French the protection of their own names to which in all justice they would seem entitled.
We wondered, therefore, whether you might not wish to discuss the matter with the President. We would like at least to be able to inform the French that we have not lost sight of their request.
- Approved June 26, 1936; 49 Stat. 1939, 1966.↩