838.51/3740: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Haiti (Mayer)
81. Your 137, October 10, 1 p.m., and the Minister’s letter of October 7, 1938 to Duggan.65 You may inform the Minister for Foreign Affairs that this Government is surprised and greatly disappointed at the continued delay on the part of the Haitian Government to extend to American goods similar in character to certain French goods covered in the Franco-Haitian Commercial Convention, the most-favored-nation treatment clearly set forth in our trade agreement with Haiti. You may add that not only is such most-favored-nation treatment the [Page 640] basic principle of our whole commercial policy but that the hesitation of Haiti to honor its pledged word could not fail to have a most unfortunate repercussion should that fact become generally known to the public in this country and elsewhere in the Americas.
In the Department’s opinion the fact that the 1910 loan settlement was included in a protocol of signature to the Franco-Haitian Convention regulating commerce between the two countries cannot alter this Government’s contention previously set forth many times to both the Haitian Government and the French Government that these two matters are unrelated. It was partially with this end in view that this Government undertook conversations with the French Government during the past 2 years seeking to disassociate the two subjects and later expressed its disappointment that contrary to the verbal assurances of the then Haitian Minister for Foreign Affairs the 1910 loan agreement was mentioned in the Franco-Haitian Commercial Convention.
You may add that while this Government does not wish to embarrass unduly the Haitian Government at this time, it cannot help but express the opinion that had these last named assurances of the Haitian Government been honored in fact, the present difficult situation with regard to the Franco-Haitian Commercial Convention would not have arisen. You may say to the Haitian Minister for Foreign Affairs that while this Government continues to desire the formal assurances in reply to its memorandum of July 16, it feels that the more immediate issue is that of prompt extension of most-favored-nation treatment for American goods.
For your own information it may be added that this Government has no intention at this time of pressing a demand for the formal assurances with regard to the 1910 loan, provided that the more recent arrangement continues to work satisfactorily. However, the Department is doubtful of the wisdom of permitting the Haitian Government to gain the impression that it may with impunity disregard its previous reiterated though verbal assurances with regard to the 1910 loan.
- Latter not found in Department files.↩