Office of the Historian

611.4131/1668: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy)

Washington, July 18, 1938—3 p.m.

366. Your 636, June 14, 7 p.m. Stanley’s conception of the progress of the negotiations differs very materially from our own. The general situation as regards schedules remains as set forth in my 320 of July 2 last.40 Note particularly last paragraph of that telegram. The only additional development has been the receipt of a memorandum from the British stating that they will not subclassify lumber.41 As you know, we did not request subclassification but free entry on the species of lumber of which the United States is the principal foreign supplier but, as a practical matter, we recognize that it would be almost impossible for the United Kingdom to meet our request without subclassification.

I plan to remain in Washington constantly in order that I may be in direct touch at all times with these negotiations.

Hull
  1. Not printed; Secretary Hull reported that the British Trade Delegation had made additional offers of concessions on some American industrial products, and that they were still studying American requests on agricultural products and lumber (611.4131/1625a).↩
  2. Memorandum of July 5, p. 35.↩