811.61831/36: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Kennedy ) to the Secretary of State

1620. Answering your 926, September 12, 6 p.m.5 I talked with Oliver Stanley, President of the Board of Trade, this morning. He told me no action had been taken or was contemplated by the British Government with reference to emergency restriction of imports of tobacco from foreign countries, notably Turkey, and that as a matter of fact there is none against the United States.

The restriction is not through regulation or legislation but through the employment of Britain’s purchasing power. Tobacco as well as other products will be affected on the one hand by the British Government’s desire to conserve its sterling resources and on the other hand by its desire to increase its influence over countries in the war area and to prevent supplies from reaching Germany.

Kennedy
  1. Not printed.