781.003/174
The Chargé in the United Kingdom (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 3, 1939.]
Sir: In its telegram No. 748 of December 3, 5 p.m.,49 the Department states that in drafting treaty instruments for negotiation with [Page 888] the French Government concerning Morocco it has found the provisions relating to customs valuation embodied in Note 5 and the Annex thereto accompanying the Anglo-French Treaty of July 18, 1938, concerning the French and Tangier Zones of the Shereefian Empire unsatisfactory as a model. It accordingly requests this Mission to obtain from the appropriate British authorities as much information as may be available concerning (1) the background of the negotiation of Note 5 and the Annex thereto of the Treaty in question; (2) whether the provisions in questions are deemed to be satisfactory; and (3), if not, whether the British Government has under consideration any modification of those provisions before the exchange of ratifications of the Treaty.
In reply, I have the honor to report that this question was to-day discussed with the competent official of the British Foreign Office, Mr. A. F. Orchard, who stated with regard to point (1) above, that the background of Note 5 and the Annex thereto was very simple. Their provisions, he said, had been designed to provide an agreed method of customs valuation which was more specific than the vague method provided in Chapter V of the Act of Algeciras, and they had been drafted by the Board of Trade itself, largely along the lines of the customs valuation procedure followed here.
With regard to point (2), Mr. Orchard said that the British Government had, of course, had no opportunity to test out in practice whether the provisions of Note 5 and the Annex thereto were satisfactory since the Treaty was not yet in effect, but that the Government had no reservations on this score.
With regard to point (3), Mr. Orchard indicated that there had been no thought of modifying the provisions of Note 5 and the Annex thereto before the exchange of ratifications of the Treaty. He went on to say that the Foreign Office was in process of obtaining the agreement of the British Dominions and Dependencies to the Treaty; that some of them had already signified their agreement; and that the reply of others was being awaited. He could not, however, forecast when the exchange of ratifications was likely to take place.
Respectfully yours,
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