781.003/73: Telegram
The Chargé in the United Kingdom ( Johnson ) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 27—4:03 p.m.]
65. Your 27, January 22, 11 a.m.
1. Discussion with the Foreign Office this afternoon clarified a misunderstanding with respect to schedule A to be appended to the exchange of notes on quotas, the exact position of which had not been made clear to me by Mr. Wills of the Board of Trade. This schedule A will be a list, and probably a long one, of commodities on which [Page 855] the British definitely do not desire the imposition of a quota system and the French will be requested to agree that the quota system will not be applicable to any or all articles on that schedule without prior consultation and agreement with the British.
The schedules to be annexed to the exchange of notes on quotas will therefore in fact be three: A, as above described; B, the commodities of primary importance covering woolen and cotton textiles and coal. With respect to the commodities here scheduled, the basic period is to be fixed in the schedule itself and thus made a part of the exchange of notes; schedule C will refer to commodities in which the British have no interest and the French will be left free to impose quotas or not as they see fit, subject however to the general limitations of the agreement with respect to mathematical proportions within the global quota.
2. The Department’s understanding as outlined in the second paragraph of 27, January 22, 11 a.m. is therefore correct in that the draft commercial agreement provides that quotas may be imposed upon importations of all articles entering into Morocco subject to the limitations imposed by schedules A and B, the difference between those schedules being that on the items in schedule B the British themselves are desirous of securing a quota in order to protect those commodities and are insisting that the basic periods must be fixed in the schedule itself; and schedule A will list commodities on which the British Government does not desire a quota and will accept quotas only after consultation and agreement. This schedule has not yet been drawn up.
3. The agreement may be made applicable to any crown colony by declaration to the French Government and its application to any crown colony, once effected, may be withdrawn by either party on giving a year’s notice.
4. Beckett, legal advisor of the Foreign Office will head the British delegation to Paris, leaving Sunday night. I left with him a copy of the Department’s memorandum to the French for which he expressed appreciation. (Department’s 32, January 22, 11 a.m. to Paris.)