740.00112 Navicert/1
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Chief of the Division of European Affairs (Hickerson)
| Participants: | Sir Owen Chalkley, Commercial Counselor of the British Embassy |
| Mr. Keith Officer, Australian Counselor of the British Embassy | |
| Mr. J. G. Foster, First Secretary of the British Embassy | |
| Mr. Alexander Knox Helm, First Secretary of the British Embassy | |
| Mr. Bert L. Hunt, Legal Adviser’s Office | |
| Mr. Jesse Saugstad, Division of International Communications | |
| Mr. Leroy Stinebower, Economic Adviser’s Office | |
| Mr. John Hickerson, Assistant Chief, Division of European Affairs |
Sir Owen Chalkley and his associates called at the State Department at Mr. Hickerson’s request at 3:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Mr. Hickerson made the fallowing verbal statement to them:
“Careful consideration has been given to Sir Owen Chalkley’s verbal statement of October 16 last concerning a proposed notice to be issued by His Majesty’s representatives concerning the proposed initiation in the United States of the so-called Navicert System in respect to exports from the United States to certain countries. Particular notice has been taken of the statement that the system is a purely voluntary one for the benefit of exporters who may desire to take advantage of it, and of the statement of Sir Owen Chalkley that the object of the system is to ‘facilitate the legitimate trade of American exporters’.
“Attention is again invited to a part of the oral statement made by Mr. Hickerson in September to Sir Owen Chalkley as follows:
‘This Government on its part desires that its trade with neutral countries proceed with the least possible disturbance due to the existence of a state of war in Europe. As regards trade of neutral countries (in particular the so-called Northern neutrals) with the United States, it should be fully understood as has already been publicly announced, that this Government reserves all rights of the United States and its nationals under international law and is not to be understood as endorsing any principle of interference with trade of genuine neutral character.’
“We have been authorized to inform Sir Owen Chalkley that subject to the above quoted reservation the American Government, as such, has no desire to take a position at this time in respect to the introduction in the United States of the proposed Navicert System. At the present stage, it rather regards the proposed system as a matter between those American exporters who may desire to take advantage of it and the appropriate British authorities. These comments are however based on the assumption that the following assertions are correct:
- “1. The proposed Navicert System will in no sense be used to interfere in any way with the normal volume of exports of genuine neutral character from the United States to any neutral country.
- “2. The proposed Navicert System will not be used in any way to discriminate against the United States and United States exporters.
- “3. The granting or rejection of a Navicert shall be conditional upon circumstances related solely to the character of the goods and conditions in the country of importation and in no respect upon conditions related to American exporters or to the United States.
- “4. Whenever applications for Navicerts are rejected a clear, concise statement of the reasons for such rejections shall be given to the applicant for the Navicert.”
Sir Owen Chalkley said that they would communicate this statement to their Government and would in due course let us know whether the British Government desired to make any comments on this statement.