600.939/238: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 5—11:10 a.m.]
507. Department’s 265, July 30, 2 p.m.
1. We had prepared and were about to deliver this morning to the Foreign Office an aide-mémoire along the lines of the Department’s telegram under reference when there was received from the Foreign Office a note dated August 1, as follows (translation):
“By an order, dated June 28, 1938, of the Tientsin Customs authorities, the exportation of buffalo hides, cow hides, sheep, goat and lamb skins was prohibited. In regard to the above prohibitive order, the American Ambassador, on July 4, 1938, spoke to the Foreign Minister and requested repeal of the embargo. Further, in two aide-mémoires from the American Embassy, dated July 6 and July 16, 1938, it was urgently requested that the above embargo be abolished and that, as an immediate measure, it be repealed insofar as it affects those articles for which contracts have already been made.
Thereafter the Provisional Government as a result of consideration of the interests of foreign merchants, by an ordinance, dated July 16, 1938, and by the general [later] interpretations of the original ordinance, has removed the embargo as is shown hereafter. Accordingly, the embargo is removed on the greater part of the principal exports to foreign countries, and exports of about $1,300,000, of the approximately $1,500,000 (it was claimed that the amount was [$]2,500,000 but of this $1,000,000 has no connection with the embargo) loss claimed by the Tientsin Fur and Skin Exporting Association, can be exported. In this way the grievance of the exporting merchants concerning this matter should disappear naturally, and it is believed that results which should be completely satisfactory to the Government of the United States have been obtained.
Addendum. Articles on which the embargo has been repealed by the order of July 16.
[Page 37]The articles prohibited as [by the] ordinance of June 28, 1938, have been interpreted by the Tientsin Customs authorities to include the following: (1) hides and leather of buffalo and cow; (2) goat skins; (3) kidskins and kid plates; (4) lambskins and lamb plates; (5) sheep plates; (6) slink skins.
The embargo on articles covered by items numbers 2 and 3 of the above list has been removed by the ordinance of the provisional régime dated July 16, 1938. Further, the customs authorities are taking the view that the embargo has been removed on the following articles from among those covered by item number 4, lambskins and lamb plates, of the above list: (1) lamb plates (sewed patch of approximately 50 inches by 25 inches), (a) lambskin plates (selected); (2) lamb ear plates, (3) lamb head plates, (4) [lamb] leg plates.”
2. The Customs order of July 16 mentioned in the Foreign Office note is apparently the order referred to in Tientsin’s 129, July 18, 4 p.m.; 132, July 19, 2 p.m.; and 135, July 21, 1 p.m.,55 but stated to be “not yet issued”; further the Customs notification reported in Tientsin’s 145, July 30, 1 p.m., appears not to make exemptions from the embargo of certain kinds of lambskins and plates as set forth in addendum to the Foreign Office note.
3. We are withholding the aide-mémoire until we receive Tientsin’s comment on the Foreign Office note especially on the statement that the embargo has been lifted on items representing approximately 85% in value of exports of hides and skins.
4. The Foreign Office stated in reply to an informal inquiry that it had received no report on the issuance of the Customs order of July 30 but that advance information from Tientsin was to the effect that lambskins and lamb plates (selected) which form the bulk of shipments to the United States were to be removed from the embargo.
Please repeat to Peiping.
- None printed.↩