740.00112 European War 1939/521
The Secretary of State to the British Ambassador (Lothian)
Memorandum
Certain incidents occurred recently at Montevideo, Uruguay, which involved the operation of the so-called British black list and its interference with the legitimate operations of American firms with neutral countries. An employee of the British Legation in Montevideo is reported to have informed the local agents of the American Moore–McCormack Lines that if freights were carried for firms on the British [Page 776] black list, steps would be taken to see that other shippers canceled all freights already booked and refused to ship on the line. The particular service affected connects various of the other American republics with the United States. Another American firm, namely, the Sprague Line, which operates chartered Norwegian steamers, was reported to have booked a shipment for one of the Uruguayan firms on the black list. As a result, it received letters from ten Uruguayan shippers stating that they would be unable to ship on the line. It is the belief of the American Minister in Uruguay that the letters were sent as a result of the activities of the aforesaid employee of the British Legation. At a later date, the British Minister in Uruguay assured the American Minister that there had been a misunderstanding and that the scope of the activities of the employee above mentioned was merely to obtain the “voluntary” cooperation of the American lines.
These particular incidents afford an opportunity to call to the attention of the British Ambassador, informally and frankly, a matter which may well become a serious source of friction between the United States and the British Governments unless there is an informal understanding and a meeting of minds as to attitude and interpretation. It will be recalled that in the last war there was great friction, resentment, and angry correspondence between the two Governments over this subject.56 The American Government took the position that the operation of the black list interfered with the legitimate operations of American firms with neutral countries. The British Government, on the other hand, insisted that the legislation in question was purely municipal, that the penalties provided for in connection with the black list were against British firms and individuals to be enforced in the United Kingdom. In the face of the occurrence last week in Montevideo it would appear to be somewhat legalistic to contend that the black list had not resulted in an interference in a neutral country with the operations of an American company with its regular customers in that country. It is true that the British Minister and his assistant assured the American Minister at Montevideo that there had been a misunderstanding and a misrepresentation of their attitude, but the facts remain that ten firms in Montevideo wrote to an American steamship company that they could not ship Uruguayan cargo to the United States because of the fact that this American company transported cargo to the United States for another firm in Uruguay which firm the British Government believed to have connections with an enemy belligerent.