Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1939, The Far East; The Near East and Africa, Volume IV

611.6731/531: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Turkey (MacMurray)

Washington, March 24, 1939—6 p.m.

15. Your 18, March 22, 2 p.m. We would greatly prefer not to have a tariff quota on the prune items. Although we do not anticipate any large increase in trade in these items under the proposed reduced rates, we do not wish to have it appear that the trade cannot expand beyond a small figure such as 5,000 Turkish pounds.

You should therefore endeavor again to obtain the assent of the Turks to the retention in Schedule I of the prune items without a tariff quota. If this is not possible, you should endeavor to have the dried prunes item retained without a tariff quota. However, you are authorized, as a final concession in order to expedite the conclusion of the agreement, to drop all of the prune items from Schedule I.

Hull