Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1938, The British Commonwealth, Europe, Near East, and Africa, Volume II

611.6731/387: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Turkey (MacMurray)

Washington, June 15, 1938—6 p.m.

12. Your 46, June 8, 7 p.m.

1. Department would not wish to entertain a proposal for suspending negotiations at this late stage until it had been conclusively determined that no acceptable alternatives exist. With respect to most of the major difficulties you have reported, there appears to us to remain scope for exploration of possible compromises adapted to necessities of the Turkish position while saving the essential substance of our policy. These problems, together with a recent request from the Turkish Ambassador, acting under instructions from his Government, for favorable replies respecting (1) percentage concessions, (2) tariff quotas, and (3) 80 percent exchange clause, are being given careful study with a view to telegraphing you more detailed instructions shortly.

2. Our evaluation of the situation is hampered by lack of precise information as to Turkish Schedule II¹⁶ requests and Schedule I¹⁷ counterproposals on individual items. Please telegraph immediately when your reports on these are due to reach the Department. We have received your despatches numbered 622, 628, 650, and 651.¹⁸ If the Turkish Schedule II requests are not due to reach the Department shortly, telegraph their substance as well as present status of negotiations regarding them. Telegraph also your views as to the practicability of proceeding with negotiations on individual schedule items on the assumption that solutions will be found for problems of general provisions including question of binding rates. This may permit Burns return at an early date while Wadleigh remains to work on general provisions.

3. Since present Turkish position is evidently influenced in large measure by current Turkish-American trade balance, detailed study by commodities of the changes reported in your telegram may throw valuable light. Please make such study as available Turkish data permit, to supplement our studies of United States statistics here, with a view to determining nature of the changes and particularly to what extent the changed trade balance appears likely to continue, and report results briefly by telegraph.

4. We are also considering the desirability of calling the Turkish Ambassador in to express to him our concern over the nature of the Turkish reply but our confidence that Turkey does not intend to retract its earlier assurances, on the basis of which we undertook negotiations last fall, that an agreement could be concluded on the most-favored-nation basis, and that we are prepared to explore all means of accommodating the precise formulation of our basic policy to the needs of Turkey’s position. Such an interview might well be preceded by a similar interview by Ambassador MacMurray with the Foreign Minister. Please telegraph your views as to the desirability of such action.

Hull

16. Schedule of tariff concessions to be given by the United States on imports from Turkey.
17. Schedule of tariff concessions to be given by Turkey on imports from the United States.
18. None printed.