611.3131/180: Telegram
The Minister in Venezuela (Nicholson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 7:55 p.m.]
26. My despatch No. 971 dated March 28, the Minister of Foreign Affairs assured me in a conversation this morning that he was not discouraged over the possibility of completing a trade agreement with the United States. He expressed the view, however, that “several [Page 970] weeks” would elapse before an agreement could be concluded and suggested again the advantage of entering into a modus vivendi in the meantime in the light of two probable developments: (1) The implantation of a quota system in Venezuela which is imminent and (2) The adoption of a 2–column or even a 3–column tariff which is less imminent but which he is urging upon the Government.
The modus vivendi as suggested by the Foreign Minister might be either a very short document containing only a guarantee of unconditional most-favored-nation treatment or it might be a much longer document embodying the draft general provisions of the trade agreement already agreed upon. Dr. Gil Borges offered to submit to me informal drafts of the two types in about a week, after they had been approved by the President and the Cabinet.
A reply to my note of March 12th15 is expected within 10 days but as all government departments are at their busiest during the session of Congress which opens April 19 the Department should be prepared for discussions to proceed slowly for a time.