611.3531/896a: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to President Roosevelt, at Sea
12. The extended discussions with the Argentine officials have finally brought us to a position where the way is clear to open negotiations with every prospect of a good agreement being reached, A trade agreement would as you know buttress and solidify the good-neighbor policy as well as bring about a distinct improvement for our trade and a positive advance against totalitarian methods. Failure to seize this opportunity would have the reverse effect by turning the present cordiality into an equal measure of ill-feeling and result in retrogression in our commercial relations with Argentina.
The proposal is to announce trade-agreement negotiations immediately with a view to completing them before late autumn. Wallace has agreed to this. All are agreed that we can work out an agreement which can be so safeguarded as to avoid injury to American production. Secretary Hull feels, however, that political hazards in such negotiations are such that he does not in these circumstances wish to take responsibility of urging you; that the decision must rest with you. On the other hand, I personally feel, and Grady17 concurs, that this agreement might well be made a political asset in view of popular approval of closer relations with Latin America and the obvious contribution which it would make to this end. Please let me know by telegraph whether you approve going ahead. In case you instruct us to proceed will you telegraph Wallace and ask him to cooperate wholeheartedly in defending the agreement and to take suitable steps to see that his organization does so, since the Secretary feels strongly that this must have the whole-hearted and active support of yourself and Wallace.
- Henry F. Grady, Assistant Secretary of State.↩